


Pradesh Week 2k18

by kendraleaanne



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Canon Universe, F/M, Fluff, Harem, M/M, Modern AU, Multi, Pradesh Week, Pradesh Week 2k18, Slut for Tropes, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-24 14:33:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 82,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15632628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kendraleaanne/pseuds/kendraleaanne
Summary: The lovely author Desna has started a Pradesh Week and I am shamefully late but it'll be a fun, wild ride with Bickslow and his family paired with the mages of Fairy Tail.





	1. Shatter- BixLu Modern AU

Shatter- BixLu Modern Day AU

Bickslow cringed as he heard yet another glass crash onto the stained concrete floor to what was sure to be yet another of his shattered bottles of alcohol.

A distinctly feminine voice resounded from the bar area into the backroom. "Shit, why is this so fucking hard?"

Yeah, definitely another of his practice bottles. He had to hand it to the tenacious woman though, she certainly was persistent. Seven bottles down in three hours and he now also knew she had the vocabulary of a well-educated sailor. Something that endlessly amused him on account of her small unassuming stature and bubbly persona.

Getting up from the back room to go check on her with an ever-present grin on his handsome face, Bickslow decided he needed a break from inventory. His bar would start to get busy soon anyway with six o'clock fast approaching.

When he turned the corner and was greeted with the sight of the curvy woman bent over in a pair of tight dark washed jeans, strings of grumbled sarcasm sounding from under her breath, he had to choke back his usual cackles before he cleared his throat and her top half snapped up so fast, she dropped the dustpan full of glass shards and nearly smacked herself in the face with the hand broom from her startled reaction.

"Bickslow! I, um, I broke another bottle but it's only because I have finally moved on from a regular toss to a flip, which is really hard for me apparently." Though her face fell a little, she quickly had a wide smile replacing the sad frown from her shortcomings.

He would have offered to help clean up but she had already knelt back down and took care of the mess during her end of the conversation. He honestly could say she was by far the best employee he had and that was including the demon barmanager. Before he moved her behind the bar, she was an amazing waitress and he sorely missed her on the floor but it was move her or lose her and that just wasn't an option for the blunette. He still had to convince the blonde to go out with him.

It had been months and he had yet to get anything more than a few light-hearted chuckles and a wishy-washy reply that never really answered him one way or another. Something that he took as not a no so it never discouraged him. In fact, it lured him in more to the point that he was noticing a pattern in the one-night stands he's been having fewer or lately; they were nearly always blonde and they all had an hourglass shape. All of them.

"Do you think you could show me again in the morning? It's like as soon as you leave, so does all the bartendy magic." Her eyes were wide with their usual chocolate warmth as she looked up into his eyes hopeful and so tempting.

Tilting his head down towards her, his brows waggled playfully back. "I'll do you one better, Cosplayer. How about after we're done here, you come over, I'll cook you a delicious dinner/breakfast because I'm an amazing chef and we can use the bar at my place to practice your tosses."

He watched in rapt curiosity as her brow furrowed just slightly before a intense determination lit in her eye. "You know what? That sounds perfect. Let me go tell my roommate I won't be coming home so he doesn't freak out and tear the city apart."

And just like that, she was gone and he had a date.

And she was telling her roommate she wouldn't be home.

With a significant pep in his step, he managed to finish up in the back room and because of his celebratory mood, he called in a few favors to get a DJ for the night making it one of his best in a month. Overall, it shaping up to be an all around winner for one Bickslow Pradesh.

As if the gods could have blessed him more, a particularly clumsy girl had one too many Long Islands and dumped the last one down the front of her black button down so she was left to finish the morning out in black t-shirt that was a size too small for her bountiful chest to make it ride up with every raise of her arms. It was driving him crazy, that flash of toned stomach in the front and the downright sexy dimples low on her back.

"Who was that DJ by the way? I had a ton of people ask me about him but I didn't recognize him. He was amazing though!"

She had been chattering for the last forty-five minutes they were closing up which was another of the many reasons Bickslow enjoyed her presence so much; she had an endless supply of energy and she preferred to work tens and twelves.

He held the door open for her as he answered easily, "That would be my little brother Vander, but he usually doesn't have the time to come out. We happened to get lucky enough to catch him between holes."

Her face scrunched as she scoffed out a few laughs, "Gods, that is a visual. You just gave me that to keep in my head forever. I hope you're happy," before shaking her head to wait for him to see where they'd be going since she didn't have the slightest clue where her very attractive and very persistent manager and owner of the bar she worked at lived.

"I tell it like I see it, Cosplayer."

He let his tongue loll from his mouth in a playful, silly gesture to earn a lilting giggle from the beautiful woman before she elbowed his side before she mustered up a sad excuse for a glare. "It was one time, Bix! It was a costume party! I had to dress up!"

He shot back saucily, "Yeah but you didn't have to wear the bunny outfit with the little poofy tail and the ears and the stockings-"

"Okay, I get it! It was provocative but it wasn't my choice. I lost a bet with Gajeel and that's what he picked."

The way her cheeks puffed out when she was annoyed was almost as funny as the look he imagined her face skewed into upon seeing her punishment for the first time. He would have to make sure to give the ingenious bouncer a nice bonus for that one.

"That's too fucking good actually, but it doesn't explain the cheerleader outfit or the actual cosplay get up. Who were you again? Wait, don't tell me...Black Canary. All that leather, those scandalous fishnets." The longer he talked, the more over the top he got and the more Lucy's laughter filled the morning air.

She tried her best to muster a stern face and failed miserably. "Shut up you asshole. You're supposed to never bring that stuff up. You made a promise, Bix. A pinky promise."

Before she knew it, they were standing in front of an impressive matte black motorcycle with the name Indian Scout across the gas tank in silver and Bickslow was handing her a matching matte bucket helmet.

She took it reluctantly before nodding her head a few times and looking up into his hypnotizing red eyes. "I should have guessed you had a motorcycle. You have 'I ride a motorcycle' vibes but I have never been on a motorcycle and I don't want to die today."

Pausing to take the helmet and secure it on her head, he reassured the nervous woman as he ducked to tighten the clasp under her chin, "I've been riding since I was 14 years old and I don't live that far away. It'll be a short and sweet trip, I promise."

Backing away to offer his outstretched hand to help her onto the back of his bike, he let her get comfortable before holding his pinky out to her from beneath his lithe but built arm to make up for his previous blunder. The tricksy man waited until she skeptically wrapped her pinky around his before tugging her whole hand around his waist before calling back her over the sound of the engine, "Hold tight and lean with me, okay?"

Giving him a nod of affirmation, she gripped the fabric of his smooth button-down as he finally took off and her other arm made its way around to anchor herself to his body.

Bickslow wasn't lying when he said it would be a short ride, maybe ten minutes at the most, and here she was standing in the middle of the blunette's kitchen as he excused himself to change into something 'more appropriate'.

She took the time to wander, pulling at her just sticky enough tank top from her skin that it made her shiver involuntarily at the feeling of the stiff material peeling off her skin. His home was a beautiful one story with high vaulted ceilings, massive glass windows covered with thick blackout curtains and a sense of being lived in and homey. She couldn't help but be fascinated by the wooden art that seemed to cover every inch of exposed walls. Masks, shields, carvings, urns lined the shelves as well but what really caught her attention was the massive totem comprised of five separate faces that stood taller than herself. It was easily one of the most eccentric and wonderful thing she'd ever seen in someone's home.

"I see you've been drawn to my pride and joy."

Bickslow's smooth voice startled her from her observing enough to let out a tiny squeak of surprise before she felt a hand low on her back.

"I've never seen anything like it. It must be Boscan by the carvings but it must be, stars, it must be at least a century old," she answered before turning to take in the compact muscle on full display with the baggy faded pink tank top that simply said 'weirdo' across the chest and a pair of black shorts that fell well above his knees. She also noticed he was holding a stack of clothes in his arms as he a look took hold of his face as if he was recalling a good memory as he spoke.

"That's pretty good, Cheerleader. I had to find each head separately but in the end, it was worth it."

He left it at that for a moment, the blunette content to admire his collection and the blonde happy to take in the pieces of history until his shoulders jumped just slightly and he was handing her the clothes with a wide smile on his lips, "Oh, these should be close to fitting you. Xally is about your height and she has impeccable taste so they should be easier for you to practice in than those," gesturing his chin towards her current dirtied attire before giving a head nod back behind him to show her where the bathroom was, "You can change in there while I get some grub started."

From their long hours together at his bar, she already knew Xally was his youngest sibling and thought the gesture as a whole was romantic and chivalrous, something that took her by surprise knowing the man's reputation for picking up women with near infallible ease.

Shaking the dazed look from her eyes, she met his with her own wide smile before thanking him and heading towards the bathroom to change, her mind set on not overthinking the fact that she was having a very casual breakfast date with her boss in his home while wearing his sisters clothes. Totally normal.

Bickslow was whistling one of his brother's songs under his breath while he moved around the open layout of his kitchen to whip up something quick but filling after the busy night they had. He knew for a fact that neither one of them ate anything more than a day's worth of ibuprofen and a few shots of his secret stash.

When she finally come back out, ball of work clothes under her arm and dressed in a very form-fitting White Sea t-shirt and a pair of spandex workout shorts that fell mid thigh, her face was filled with lazy glee at smelling the familiar delicious scent of a ramen. Her voice was a lovely lilt as she all but cooed to him, "My stars that smells amazing, Bix. I don't think I've had real ramen in years."

"That's a damn shame. I thought that roommate of yours chowed down every chance he got?" His words weren't unkind as he seamlessly worked to make up their bowls and clean up after himself in an impressive display of domesticity that again had the blonde reeling a bit from just how wrong she was about how this would play out.

Without a doubt in her mind, she thought if she broke and went out with him, she would have to deal with the awkward aftermath of sleeping with her manager. More importantly, she didn't want to deal with her emotional aftermath since she was nearly incapable of not becoming attached to the men she slept with in some way. Especially men she had been harboring a ridiculous crush on the easy-going guy from the moment he interviewed her. It would be nearly impossible for her not to find him stunning. He had a deep natural tan, sharp handsome features, an incredible drool-worthy body and she hadn't even mentioned his laugh. She could listen to it all day and never tire of it because it was so genuine. Every single time.

"You know, it's really rude to stare but I think I'll take it as a compliment from you."

Rubbing the back of her head in an adopted motion from her roommate, she ducked her head to hide her blush at being caught blatantly ogling him before grabbing the bowl and mumbling out, "Right, sorry, you just really took me off guard. Not in a bad way though, I just mean thanks. I guess."

She couldn't help but cringe at her own babbling before his contagious laughter filled the cavernous space to inherently ease her nerves.

"Well if that wasn't the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life, slather me in butter and call me a biscuit, buttercup." He turned around to lead her to his dining room, calling lazily over his shoulder as her face lit up once again, "And you're welcome."

She waited until his towering frame turned the corner before letting out a dramatic sigh and mumbling to no one in particular, "Why does he have to be so good at this," before following behind, her hand pulling at the rising hem of her borrowed shirt to try and cover her stomach. She and Xally seemed to be the same height but Lucy definitely had a bigger chest and the tight cotton of the shirt fit almost like she was wearing a child's size and not a grown woman's.

They ate with typical light banter before Lucy watched Bickslow get up, take both their bowls and disappear once again before returning with yet another set of practice bottles and she let out an uncontainable groan. She had forgotten the whole point of being here was to go over those stupid tosses she couldn't seem to grasp.

His easy chuckles filled her headspace for a moment before he was scoffing at her. "This was your idea, not mine. If it were up to me, we would not be doing bar tricks as the sun rises. Total waste of a moment in my opinion." His tone was playful and teasing to match the tongue-lolling grin plastered on his face and after a flash of panic at her own train of thought, she decided to be bold.

Making a pass at casual, Lucy tilted her head as she looked up at the self-satisfied man, her voice full of mock innocence, "What would you have us do instead?"

Blinking down at the blonde after the seemingly harmless question, he tried to gather his thought process enough to answer before it was too late and she was practically stalking towards him from around the table, the action pulling a near instant reaction from his brain straight down to his core.

Her voice had dropped to near husky levels as shining chocolate eyes mapped over his body hungerly, "Because I could name a few things we could have way more fun doing."

Not one to roll over, he stepped forward into her space after emptying his arms as fast as he could manage so he could cross them over his chest, the hard-earned muscle bulging as he did to tease back with his own low playful drawl, "Are you coming onto me because if that's the case, we can drop the games. I've waited way too long for this to beat around the bush."

The straightforward, no bullshit delivery was just the perfect sexy final straw before Lucy was licking her lips in anticipation and closing the last bit of space hanging between them to run the palms of her hands up over the ridges and valleys of the backs of his arms and pull him down to crash their lips together in a messy kiss driven by months of mutual bottled desire for the other.

She couldn't help but moan as his hands traced down the curves of her back all the way down to her thighs before lifting her so he could have better access to both her mouth and her body. She might have thought the height difference attractive but Bickslow wasn't about to welcome the pain of constantly bending over, even to kiss a gorgeous blonde.

So caught up in the slow building friction between them and the smooth skin of his shoulder beneath her palms, she hardly realized they were back in the kitchen until the cold stone of his counters hit the hot flesh of her legs, forcing a startled gasp from lips are her back arched away from the chill.

Her voice was a scolding hiss as she sucked in a sharp breath, "Cold. That is super cold."

Though he barely moved, she could feel the way his lips curled into smile over hers before muttering, "You'll get used to it one way or another," before his the heat of his deft lips was making its way down the column of her throat to the valley of her haphazardly contained chest.

There wasn't much she could do. There wasn't much she really wanted to do aside from strip this man bare and ride him until the sun set.

Her voice was needy and breathless as she all but moaned his name. Enough encouragement to have him near shamelessly tear his sisters shirt right off her body to let her creamy skin free under the growing light from the sunrise. It was like a moment time stood still with her breast free, her chest heaving and flushed, as she looked up at him from her perch on his counter with uninhibited hunger. It was a soft, feminine hunger that made his chest tighten and his mind race with panic because that had never happened before in short lifetime.

It was a moment of fear for the longtime bachelor; a fear he had been laughing in the face of. Attachment. Then followed by commitment. Then finally coming full circle to love. A progression of emotions he wasn't anywhere near ready to have.

Shaking off the worry, he chalked it up to a lack of sleep coupled with his own unresolved sexual tension before he filled his palms with each of her breasts and the warmth from them started the slow-twisting arousal to tighten, urging him to move in spite of what she was doing to him. The weight of her in his hands was enough to make him forget everything except her ragged breathing and how unbelievably supple her skin was.

Another instant passed and Lucy was so lost in the way his touch brought her senses to life, she hadn't noticed he had shed his shirt completely until the tips of her fingers caught the metal of piercings through his nipples. Her widened for a fraction of a second later before another near burning wave of arousal shot through her body, her core clenching tight as another wanton moan echoed through his kitchen. Her curiosity piqued and she wanted to put the newfound piercing in her mouth having never known how much it turned her on until seeing it on Bickslow.

She was finding there were a lot of things about her boss that turned her on when exclusively applied to Bickslow. The one thing standing out right now was the way the toned muscle of his forearm was flexing against her lower back as his hips ground against her covered core in slow rocking motions almost like they were dancing to something heavy and heady, in complete contrast to the bright sunlight nearly illuminated the whole of the house.

Her voice was husky as her nails raked across his deeply tanned skin in response to his wandering hands trying their hardest to get her shorts off, "Probably easier to move out of the kitchen-Bickslow!"

Just as she was about to finish, he had managed to lift her enough to get her naked and wrap her legs around his torso forcing his name from his lips in a hiss of a breath from the unexpected motion.

His light-hearted laughter filled her with warmth as his hand near apologetically massaged where they landed around her hip and thigh. "I could get used to the way you say my name, Lucy."

"I feel like I should be a little concerned at how easy that was for you," she spoke as her brow raised playfully, her grip on his shoulders easing from where she clutched him out of panic.

Mock offense took over his face as he looked just passed her on his way through the halls of his home. "Now, now, there's no backing out. I've already got you in my clutches."

Lucy bit her lip to keep from bursting out at just how natural things felt between the two of them. Maybe it was a reflection of her choice in man before now but she had never had this much fun before making it to a bed and she had definitely never laughed this much.

Running her fingers through the length of messy blue hair reaching nearly to the nap of his neck, she tried to take in the walls of his home but found herself completely taken by the way his lips never seemed to fall from their lopsided smile.

"I'd say staring is rude but I can't fault you for admiring the view." His eyes never looked down but his tongue lolled from his mouth as her head tilted to the side, her brows furrowed in a childish display.

Her lip jutted out just enough to classify as a pout before she huffed, "How do you know I was even looking at you?"

A confidence took hold in his words to send a fresh wave of desire through her. "Please, darling, I think you forget that you can't hide how wet I'm making you when you're trapped like this."

Just as his voice faded off, her hips started grinding her clit over the hard ridges of his abs in an involuntary act as if his words were a spell making her suddenly all too aware of the skin to skin contact between them and how it wasn't enough to satisfy her need for more.

His hand tangled in her hair as his breath ghosted over the shell of her ear, her head thrown back at the lightning sensations pulsing through her most sensitive bundle of nerves. "That's it, let me know what you want. Show me what you want."

In an instant, she was cold. The smooth material of his bedspread made her back arch into his heat before that too was gone and her nipples puckered at the sudden change. Lifting herself up on her elbows to take in the smirking man, she was greeted by the flawless nude form of her personal adonis for the day. He was the perfect balance of build, tone and height to make her feel small and safe without being too bulky. He had the type of body that promised flexibility and hopefully, stamina.

Without thought, she was crawling over to the edge of the bed towards him, her lips parted just enough to show what was either shock or awe at the size of him to completely hypnotize the playboy and when she laid her gentle hands on either side of his hips, he thought for sure he was goner.

When the tip of her tongue darted out to wet her lips, her eyes boring into his, he lost all sense of control. In one swift motion, he had hooked one of her legs around his arm to both push her back and open her wide for him to see and the surprised gasp that left her lips only served to push him further as his other hand wrapped around her ass to lift her higher in his bed so he could have uninhibited access to her dripping core.

Not waiting for her to fully settle, he angled her hips towards his own aching member glistening with pre-cum and pressed the tip just into her heat to tease her with the feeling of being full before pulling back and repeating the action.

She was fighting his grip on her body to press him deeper, to feel him move inside her, but his strength kept her still to build her release from the bottom up. His hunger to see her come undone was fighting with his need to drive her crazy first and it was dizzying for the blonde left at his mercy.

There was nothing for her to do except ride out the shallow, maddening thrusts until his low voice snaked through her head to pull her under his spell. "Do you want more, Lucy? Tell me. Let me hear you."

Rolling her neck from another round of shivers from being pushed to the cusp of an unwinding so intense, the anticipation alone was making her fingers and toes feel staticy and out of her control, she didn't recognize the soft, husk of her own voice as she answered his call, "Yes. Yes, more please. I need more." Her fingers were flexing around his bulged bicep from him holding her hips up at just the right angle to tease the spot she wanted him most to the point she was sure to see spots soon.

Her heavy-lidded eyes took in his languid yet dangerous curling grin before he breathed out through the loose golden waves at her temple, "You sound so beautiful when you're breathless," before plunging into her depths with a thrust powerful enough that the first pass over the spongy patch just out of reach had her first orgasm ripping through her. A scream of pure ecstacy filled the room as she pulsed around his cock so hard, he was having to fight off his own release. Something he hasn't had to do in a very long time as she rode out the cascading waves sending jolts throughout her body.

Just as the last of her orgasm seemed to leave her body, he started the steady rocking of his hips in and out. A languid push and pull from her depths to ease her back into reality. Like every time his hips hit hers buried to the hilt, it was another stroke to ground her to him and she found herself quickly becoming addicted to the way his body moved with hers.

Bickslow could hardly believe someone so responsive and reactive could be single and willing to be in his bed underneath him. Taking him more soundly than any other woman before, his rhythm changed as his pace sped up to force the steady slapping of skin sound around them in time with his gruff masculine grunts to compliment her airy feminine moans in a cacophony of lewd noises to make up the most enrapturing symphony of sound. It filled them with the same sense of urgency for more; for the end, while somehow keeping the relaxed, easy fit they had.

Feeling his release weigh heavy at the base of his throbbing cock, he licked the pad of his thumb and pressed into the swollen pearl of her core to set of a blinding white light behind her eyelids and pull a raspy, unintelligible groan from her chest just before his climax tore through him like a bolt of lightning.

Her lips were wet as she lay panting beneath him, her eyes closed as a wide smile took over the bottom of her face, his half-hard member still buried in her twitching core. On impulse, his palm ran down the smooth flesh of her thigh to pull a shuddering sigh from the blonde. It was hard for him to keep his eyes focused on one part of her body bathed in sunlight and the dewy cover of sweat from their lovemaking.

Stretching her arms back over her head as she arched her back in a playful show at thrusting her pelvis into his to pull his attention back to her face as her words fell lazily from her pout, "Some people might be offended by all that staring, you know."

His own cheshire grin split his lips as his grip under her thigh tightened to flip them in a show of his agility so she was perched on his chest. The hand that was bracing her back during the action quickly made its way between the back of Bickslow's head and his pillow as his other hand gently moved her wild tangled hair out of her face. "Some people might take it as a compliment, you know," was his teasing but tired response.

As if all the hours they had been awake and on their feet finally caught up with the two, they both fell into a restful sleep, completely at ease falling asleep in the other's arms.

XxXxXxXxXxX

A month and a half later, Bickslow had found himself back in his office before another of his all night shifts when he heard the tell-tale sound of glass shattering on his stained concrete floor and it pulled a smile from his slowly shaking head.

"Now what could that woman possibly be up to now," was all he muttered to himself before closing the counts for the week and making his way out to the bar.

He heard Lucy's lilting voice before he saw her. "Don't worry about it! You should have seen all the bottles I went through when I was trying to learn it. Honestly, I think Bix had to buy a whole other set by the time I was through."

The sound of the new girl he had to hire to replace Lucy quickly answered in a bubbly tone that made him chuckle as he turned the corner to lean in the doorway and take in the two charismatic women, one his golden-haired goddess and the other, Mira's younger sister.

"Really? I can't imagine this was ever hard for you, Lu-chan. You haven't messed up yet."

The two still hadn't noticed him there, too involved in working in tandem to clean up the broken glass. When his relaxed voice finally spoke up, both girls jumped and it earned him another of the fiery blonde he had the mighty fine privilege of calling his girlfriend's heated glares at the intrusion. "How's the newest recruit doing, babe?"

Rolling her eyes at the pet name, she couldn't help but smile in spite of her own mild annoyance at his lack of professionalism as she finished cleaning up with Lisanna. "We're at the bar, Bix, try to remember you're still my boss for another two weeks then I start my job at Sorcerer and I'll just be your girlfriend again and Lis is doing great. A few more days of tossing and I think she'll be ready for her first night manning the bar."

The confident way her hip popped out as she leaned on the handle of the broom she had grabbed to sweep up with matched the near proud gleam in her wide chocolate eyes as she looked over at the youngest Strauss sibling made another of those warm waves to crash through his senses in ways only Lucy managed to bring out in him and he was already thinking about the way she looked flushed and tangled in his sheets. The sunrise couldn't come fast enough for him. Not when she was the prize that followed right after.


	2. Lick- ZenLu LucyFluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Okay so I am currently without a laptop and I'm SO SORRY about all the grammar weirdness and editing bullsheezy. I tried to read through it on my phone after I typed it but like you can only stare at tiny screen with tiny words for so long before you go crazy.
> 
> Fun Fact about this one, I had the ending in mind before I wrote the rest of this little gem so like, I hope you like it. I was thinking about continuing this one for one of the other days. *shrugs* I dunno, but I hope you like Day 2!~

Lick- Zen/Lu? Mostly just Lucy Fluff

Bickslow's family had been in Magnolia for a week already and Lucy was starting to feel a little unwanted seeing as how most of her female guildmates and even some of her male guildmates had stories to tell about the gorgeous family made of supermodel quality mages. As if that wasn't enough, each of them was a powerhouse in their own rights and each had an impressive resume filled with titles and commendations abound and yet here she was three daiquiris deep at the bar and not a single one has even so much as flirted with her. Sure they were nice and polite towards her, but distinctly not flirtatious. It was starting to give her a complex.

As she grumbled over her drink, stirring the half-melted frozen concoction with a fervor so excessive, it pulled Mira from her conversation with Elfman to take in the dark aura looming around her favorite blonde.

Excusing herself from her younger brother, she crossed the bar to duck her head and catch Lucy's eye to make her silver hair hang like a curtain around her cheery face. "Lu-chan, what's wrong? You've been trying to mix your daiquiri to death for the passed ten minutes and I know you never waste a good strawberry beverage."

Letting out a tired sigh as she slumped down to lean her face on the bartop, her arms hanging loose at her sides as she huffed out of annoyance, "Me, Mira! I'm what's wrong! I've been trying to hardest to make myself available without being too available and nothing! Absolutely nothing...I think I'm just not attractive to the men I'm attracted to. That's gotta be it, right? I mean, I work out, I eat relatively well, I have a pleasant personality and I can hold intelligent conversation most of the time so why for all the stars in the sky, have I not had any action at all from the hoard of virile Boscans?"

It took a minute for Lucy to realize the oldest Strauss was actually laughing at her.

Snapping her narrowed, questioning gaze to the silver-haired beauty, she asked in an accusatory manner that all tipsy, insecure women wield so well, "Do tell what's so funny about me being a spinster for the rest of my life?"

Shaking her head as she leaned on the bar and brushed the stray curls from her high ponytail back out of her face to where they belonged, Mira couldn't help but put the poor girl she saw as a younger sister out of her misery with a motherly tone. "Oh, Lu. There's nothing wrong with you. It's those boys of yours that are the problem. At least four of them gave their own special versions of the 'stay away from Lucy Heartfilia' speech to each of Bickslow's brothers. If I would have known you didn't know they did it, I would have told you sooner."

A calm so still took over her body, Mira's smile fell into a look of almost regret before Lucy seethed out, "Who."

Looking around for anyone that could help her calm the intoxicated woman, neither Levy nor Cana could be seen and Mira gulped quietly before clearing her throat and trying to placate the slow-catching fire that was Angry Lucy. "I can just talk to them for you, Lu. You don't have to worry about anything but having a-"

"Mira." Lucy's voice was edged but not unkind yet. "Who told them to stay away from me? I want names."

It took another ten minutes before the Takeover Mage finally cracked and she gave up the poor souls about to get an earful from the Light of Fairy Tail. All of which were currently spread about the guild hall in blissful ignorance of the storm heading their way.

On a mission to correct the wrongs done by the well-intentioned idiots in her life, she chugged the rest of her watery drink, spun around on her barstool and locked in on her first target; the future guildmaster of Fairy Tail shooting the breeze with the current guildmaster of Bosco's most famous and highly recommended guild, the White Sea and second oldest Pradesh Mindbender Mage. Taking in the spikey head of yellow-blond hair and getting tunnel-vision, she made a path to the S-Class lounge on the balcony.

As if his dragon could sense the ball of aggro heading straight for him, the hair on the back of Laxus' neck stood on end and he turned his head just in time to catch the pissed off look on Lucy's slightly flushed face before hissing out, "Fuck me, she looks like she's on a warpath."

Kaleb let out a deep chuckle before grinning knowingly and adding just as he took another drink from his mug, "Heading right your way, Lightning Bug."

Shooting the white-blond a harsh look, he hadn't even gotten the chance to get more information from the mind-reader before Lucy had come up beside him, hip cocked and arms crossed over her chest to test the material of her high-collared tank top, to all but glare him death.

They stared at each other for a moment before Kaleb let out another choke of a chuckle and Lucy asked indignantly while her arms shot out to convey just how done she was with him, "Well?! What's your problem Laxus?"

Pulling his steely eyes from hers to glance at Kaleb's lavender ones for any help at all, maybe get any context st all only to get none, he focused back on the seething Celestial Mage and offered neutrally, "You'll have to be more specific than that cause I'm not sure what problems I have at the moment."

"How about the kill order you put on anyone who thinks about hitting this," her hands gestured down towards her body in a jerky, angry motion before her irritation came steamrolling out of her mouth and over him. "What gives you the right to act like some big bad protector, huh? I'm a grown person who is capable of making decisions for myself and since when was it a crime for me to get some action?"

Laxus didn't quite know how to handle the situation he was in. Here Lucy was, pacing and ranting like a madwoman and he just wanted her to shut up and leave him to his beer.

"I can't believe the four of you. You and Gray I get. You're like brothers to me, but Cobra and Bickslow? Really? Really."

Most of her anger was melting away into the sticky pull of despair as she flopped across the table from the hulking blonds and sighed with a finality that had both men raising brows at the sad mess of a woman in front of them, "I'm going to end up a sexless hermit because I'm surrounded by neanderthals."

Without sparing a glance to the Lightning Slayer next to him, Kaleb's velvety smooth voice sounded from behind his mug once more, "If you're trying to get the ban lifted from your head, all you have to do is talk to Bixy. Once he gives the go ahead, you'll have my brothers swarming."

Watching her face light up at the new revolution, the touchy-feely woman let out a short squeal of joy before bouncing up and asking expectantly as her hand reached across the table to take his hand in hers, her eyes filled with a drunken wonder that had even him curious about the previously-forbidden Celestial Mage, "Really? You mean it?"

"Absolutely. Last I saw, he was about to head out-"

Before he could finish his sentence, she had come around and wrapped her dainty hands around the thick muscle of his biceps to cheerfully bubble out a, "thank you so much, you're a lifesaver," and press a kiss to his cheek before she was humming under breath and practically skipping to the first floor to find her mohawked salvation.

It took her another ten minutes before she just barely saw the blue of his top hawk head towards the front door and she ducked and dodged her way through the sea of bodies on the dance floor to hopefully cut him off and meet him there at the door before he escaped for the night.

A few elbows to the head later, she finally emerged from the crowd with a hand cradling the side of of her head that took the most painful hit only to lose her balance and trip just as she broke through the final wall of people. Her eyes squeezed shut as she waited for the pain to hit her face as it met the unforgiving and unfortunately familiar wood planks of the floor only to instead be caught by a very capable set of toned arms attached to a very devilishly handsome Pradesh. Peaking her eye open to take in the supple leather of Vander's sleeveless shirt stretched to hug his swimmers build perfectly, she took in the feel of his pecs absently before pulling back and giving him a winning smile. "Thanks for saving me from kissing the floorboards."

His slow-curling grin held the promise of devious unpredictability as his delicious wine eyes met hers with a cheeky wink. "If you were looking for a kiss, I could be of better service to you, sugar."

Her arms stayed pressed into the muscle of his chest as his hands kept their hold on her arms, his thumbs running over the smooth skin of them in wandering aimless motions that were already sending goosebumps up her arms and down her back.

Was it getting warmer in here or was that just her?

The moment was broken by the man she had originally set out to find as his usually light and playful voice held just the barest of sharp edges. "Cosplayer! What can I do for a babe like yourself?" His tongue lolled from his mouth as his brows waggled playfully, completely at odds with the unfamiliar gleam in his eye directed passed her to his Shadowquip brother.

Giving Vander's chest a few pats as if to say goodbye for now, she turned her attention up towards Bickslow's smiling face, her voice an excited rush of information matching the exhiberant motions of her hands and arms. "Bixy! I was hoping to catch you before you left since Kaleb said you were about to head out and I need to talk to you about lifting the 'ban' from my head. Kaleb said as long you gave the go ahead, everyone would stop treating me like a leper. Or a hag. Either way, I'd like to change my 'no vacancy' sign to 'vacancy'. I'd really, really, like to get to enjoy some of the perks Bosco has to offer." Her hands were laced together in front of her body to push her chest together as she near pleaded to the openly gaping Seith Mage.

Rubbing the back of his head, he shot his very smug younger brother a look of warning before letting out a breath. "Isn't Kaleb just being super helpful today?"

The sarcasm of his words flew over her head completely in her tipsy emotional state and her face lit up once again and she gushed, "He is though! Good thing too since Laxus wasn't any help at all."

The younger Pradesh cut in with a mirthful tone and a sly grin, much to the blonde's delight and the blunette's chagrin. "If I'm understanding right, you're trying to say that our dear Bixy has unfairly taken you out of the game. Is that right?" Just as he finished, his hand reached out to run his knuckles over the skin of her arm to make her shiver just slightly at the brief contact.

Nodding her head enthusiastically to Vander, Lucy could hardly hide her relief. Her mouth dropped as she was about to give thanks to yet another Pradesh for helping her out, Bickslow's even tone sounded instead. Forced to pay attention to the Seith Mage, Lucy's lips snapped shut as her eyes narrowed out of irritation for being interrupted.

"Listen, Cosplayer, I'm not trying to-"

Unable to keep from snapping, Lucy's voice was curt as she checked her nails and pointedly lost eye contact. "Trying to what, Acrobat? Not be dick? Not be a total asshole? Because I have to tell you, things aren't looking good for you right now on either account. Maybe I wanted to-"

In a rare moment of exhaustion in the Seith Mage, he laid his hands on Lucy's shoulder's and his voice was tired, something that Lucy found herself disliking even more than sitting at the bar alone. "Lucy, holy shit, I'll explain. I'll explain. Van and I were about to meet Cris for dinner, you can just come with."

Mulling her options over, her stomach was starting to hit that rumbley point where she either needed more booze or real food and she would get the explanation she charged down here for. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad either, having dinner with Bickslow and his brothers.

Fixing her slightly twisted skirt, she gave a short nod of her head before crossing her arms and heading straight for the front door to leave her two escorts behind. Both were staring after with opposing looks of dread and desire.

Leaning towards Bickslow with his usual devious smile, his voice was light and easy as he elbowed into his brothers side, "Who do you she'll land on first? Cause I'm really hoping she picks me. What do you think, bro? I got good odds or what."

Shaking his head with a slow-forming smile, he gave Vander a hearty clap to the back before laughing out, "Good luck to whoever does. As much as I'd like to say it was for Lucy, totally just looking out for you idiots. Woman eats men up and spits them out."

When Bickslow looked back down to say something else to Vander, something along the lines of 'that wasn't supposed to be motivation', he was already halfway through the door with a charming smile plastered on his face.

Muttering mockingly under his breath as he ran a hand through his mohawk, Bickslow already regretted bringing the Celestial Mage with him. "'Just come with', it'll be such a great time for me to explain that you're a fucking beast and at least one of my brother's is guaranteed to fall for you. I just have to keep her away from Zen which would be a lot easier if we could find him."

XxXxXxX

The whole way to the little late-night cafe on the canal, Lucy talked herself sober and found herself actually very much enjoying her company now that she wasn't focusing on the fact that they weren't offering to fuck her right where she was standing. She was actually starting to think that maybe she needed to just scratch the itch herself so she could be a normal functioning person again and not some neurotic sexfiend.

Looking up to take in the bulkier frame of Cristoff, she gave him a soft smile seeing as the two spent most of the second night they were here talking about anything and everything while Cana and Vander did very questionable things on the barstools down the bar from them.

"Hey, Cris," was all she could get out before Vander slung an arm over her shoulder and gave the raven-haired Lunar Slayer a brow waggle that rivaled Bickslow's.

"Guess who just got off the no-fly list? This gorgeous lady right here. How nice of Bixy-boo to finally get over himself and let the girl have some fun, don't you think, my great big moonbeam?"

Cristoff's rich chuckle hit her right in the chest as his brows raised towards Bickslow to confirm the validity of their youngest brother's statement before Bickslow gave a another reluctant nod of his head and gestured for them to actually sit at one of the outside tables so they could order. He was really hoping to get a chance to at least talk to Cris and Van about Zen alone at some point sooner than later. They were doing an excellent job so far at managing to keep the Archangel and Celestial mages apart but if being a Fairy Tail mage has taught him anything, it's to expect the unexpected.

Halfway through their laughter-filled meal, Lucy excused herself to go to the bathroom to give Bickslow the opportunity he needed with his brothers.

Leaning back on the metal chair to stretch his back out before speaking, the Seith wasn't all that worried about where Zen had gotten to, he just wanted to make sure he wasn't anywhere near them. "Can you find Zen?"

Van shrugged his shoulders as he took another bite of his massive hamburger as his only response.

"Seriously, dude?"

The Shadowquip gave a muddled 'what' with another shrug of his shoulders to try and convey how delicious his burger was and how much he did not want to move away from it.

Motioning his open palm after the blonde long gone now, he spoke as if trying to convey a point to a toddler, "Well, I don't know if you forgot but we have another brother who uses Archangel magic, old stuff, very intense, and she," stopping again to point more aggressively towards the bathroom, "is a Celestial Mage, very tricksy and very attractive to users of Archangel magic. I would like to prevent the unlikely but just likely enough to make me nervous event of the two becoming stuck with one another without them really knowing what they've done. Need I remind you what happened when Zen went to the Sea for the first time?"

Both younger Pradesh boys remember the ordeal very well and neither liked to rehash the horrible few months their brother was essentially a slave to his magic and the Celestial Mage that held the leash.

Giving his deep wine eyes a roll, Vander wiped his mouth before settling back into his usual playful manner. "You better save this for me and get me a really special dessert for when I come back. I'm supposed to be on vacation right now, you know."

"Woe is you," was all Bickslow facetiously drolled before the Shadow Mage was gone and Cristoff was left with a crevice between his brows so deep Bickslow might have been concerned for his little brother if it weren't for the curiosity shining in his deep blue eyes.

It took another few seconds for the bulkier of the two to finally speak up but his voice was its usual easy-going lilt. "Wait, so if you were just worried about her with Zen, why tell the rest of us to steer clear?"

Noticing the golden head of hair on its way back over to them, he hunkered down and rushed out in a semi-successful whisper as his hand went to block off the other side of his mouth as if that was going to keep Lucy from hearing and not the fact that she was inside the building and they were outside, "I'm just trying to look out for everyone involved here. She's got incredibly high standards and when someone finally meets them, she holds on."

"You're telling me, you're keeping her from us because she'll like it too much? Isn't that kind of the point-"

"Shushshushut up." Bickslow's hand was near smashed over Cristoff's face as Lucy came back out to the patio and sat down to start into her own house special sandwich before realizing there were two sets of eyes keenly watching her. "What? Is there something on my face," before wiping at her face to take in the fact that there was a person missing completely from the table and her head cocked to the side, "Where's Van?"

Without really thinking about it, Cristoff answered honestly, "He's going to see where Zen got to."

"Ah," her face lifted as she continued, the hand holding one of her french fries waving around without any real aim, "the mystery brother I've yet to meet. You know? I'm starting to think you Pradesh's just don't like me." Munching down on the fry with a smirk working the corner of her lips, she waited to see which brother would answer since Cristoff was now avoiding her eyes and Bickslow was rubbing his palms into his eye sockets.

After a short groan, her fellow Fairy Tail mage moved to meet her mirthful gaze, his voice just a shade dimmer than its usual energy. "Zen's just not good with people and you're the type of people he especially isn't good with."

Pulling back as if his words were a cold splash to the face, her face twisted into something mixed with uncertainty and offense. "I am? I'm sorry… I think? Did something happen to him?"

Her words were earnest and caring and that was just the type of thing that would get them stuck. She was too genuinely nice of a person to not want to help Zen and Zen was the type to just love her unique mix of soft femininity and hard morals. Not to mention they were both hilariously good looking individuals and his older brother seemed to favor blondes.

As if his little brother could sense the conversation needed an intervention, his lithe body appeared just behind Lucy's chair. His hands were gripping the back just on either side of her head but his voice was tight as his eyes stayed upwards towards the fading light of the day. "So Zen's on his way and he's pretty adamant about that so I'm gonna take stargirl and we are gonna go somewhere else."

Lucy would have objected to being kidnapped but as soon as Vander mentioned Zen was on his way to them, both men stiffened and immediately started scanning the skies as well. It really made her feel like maybe she didn't want to stick around to meet the other Pradesh.

So nodding her head, she calmly got up from her seat and asked what he needed her to do which Vander gave her an easy smile before taking her in his arms and asking her to keep her eyes shut; no matter what, she needed to keep her eyes closed.

XxXxXxX

Zen Pradesh was not having a good night even in the most general sense of the word. He's been getting less and less sleep the longer they stayed in Magnolia and his appetite has diminished to nearly nothing. The combination of the two made him jumpy, irritable and standoffish at the best of moments so he stayed inside Bickslow's house and tried to keep himself preoccupied with the books and movies he had.

That had worked for awhile until he felt a sharp pulse in his chest that drove him to the edge of snapping completely before a strangely sweet vague scent filled his senses just enough to tease at maybe something floral before he needed to move. His wings burned to spread out and his brain was going haywire, trying to get more of the intoxicating smell.

Unable to fight his instincts any longer, he barely made it out the back door in time for his massive set of midnight wings to snap out and give him a better vantage point.

He managed to land on one of the taller buildings Magnolia boasted when Vander literally poofed in beside him, the sweet scent haunting his senses lingering over him like his little brother had been in contact with whatever is producing it.

Trying to keep his deep baritone in check, he offered his annoyingly intuitive Shadowquip brother an easy, "Can I help you."

Ignoring the serious tone coming from the towering mahogany-haired ex-gladiator, Vander put his hands behind his head and casually answered the non-question, "You're not supposed to be flying around where people can see you, big bro."

Rolling the gold-flecked deep plum of his eyes back towards the streets, he gruffed out, "Tch, and you're on vacation right now, pup." Though the nickname was more of a dig thanks to his questionable role in Bosco's army, it held the faint edges of affection.

"I'll have you know I have been on vacation from the moment I returned my very confused and lost friend back into the proper authorities and you're actually ruining a perfectly good dinner. Bixy wanted to check on you."

"Bix needs to worry about something other than me for five minutes."

Vander was probably not the best to deal with the testy mage but he pressed on in true younger brother fashion, his voice lilting with a playful teasing quality that grated on his older brother, "Tell me about it. Here we all were, enjoying fantastic food at this little cafe by the canal when mister mohawks sends me away from a woman desperately needing my skills."

"And how many women have you already assisted today?" Zen was quickly losing patience but he needed to know if the woman he was just with was the reason he smelled like the heavenly jolt that set him off.

Putting a hand to his heart at the accusation, his lips curled into a devious smirk before answering, "A lady never talks conquests to big boorish brutes like you. Plus, Lucy's not quite like the others."

Vander had no way of knowing that Cristoff had told Zen all about Lucy and how amazing her relationships are with her spirits and how well she treats them which gave away her Celestial roots but no one had outright told him who the Celestial Mage was to begin with so putting all the pieces together, Zen's sleep-deprived brain puzzled out that the scent must be coming from Lucy, Celestial Summoning Wizard, and he was more than happy to find her and take her somewhere so he could finally get some peaceful sleep.

Taking off to find the cafe along the canal that held the key to his sanity, he left his brother behind and didn't bother to see how long it took him to realize what he gave away.

XxXxXxX

Which is how Lucy ended up clutching Vander in the middle of Bickslow's house trying to shake the creepy feeling Vander's shadowstepping left her with.

She felt his hands loosen around her to rub her back in soothing circles while he spoke quietly to her with a cheery tone, "You can open your eyes now. We're at Bixy's house and you're safe."

Popping one eye open to check her surroundings and confirm that she was actually inside the Seith Mage's living room, she let out a shaky breath before leaning her forehead on Vander's chest and sighing out, "I have this weird feeling like this is only putting off the inevitable."

Conceding to the curvy blonde, he gave a nod of his head before saying, "Probably. I think you're right but at least it gives me some time to tell you what's actually going on cause keeping the two of you in the dark was a little juvenile and is no longer working."

Steering her slumped frame towards the leather couch to have a sit-down chat with her, he sat them both down with Lucy tucked away under his arm before he cleared his throat in a dramatic show and launched into the origins of Zen's Archangel magic and how they are naturally drawn to Celestial magic users to work as a symbiotic relationship where both mages gain an immense boost of power based on the Celestial Mage's specific type of magic and base power level before they mated. Yes, mated. Like dragon slayers, except there wasn't just one special person it would work on; any Celestial user could mate an Archangel and bind them to each other. To be bonded and mated would make both essentially immortal as long as they stayed together but it's also hard to make a decision that permanent when your magic is driving you to bone like bunnies. The contact between the two magics is magnetic to begin with but take into account centuries of being without Archangels, it made the connection undeniable and primal.

Lucy sat back into the suede cushioning of the couch to process the information she had been given. Her arms were crossed over her chest deep in thought when her chocolate eyes looked up filled with the odd mix of wonder and confusion. He watched her lips as they pursed together for an instant before she asked, "Do you think I could get hurt?"

Vander gave the question honest thought and shook his head as his fingers played with the curls at the end of her long ponytail, "No, I don't think he'd hurt you. The relationship is more gear towards a role of protector, a knight almost. Except for the sex part of it, that's pretty self-explanatory so I don't think you have anything to be afraid of there."

Catching some of the Shadowquip's infectious personality, she threw her head back and cried out in a dramatic, over the top show, "Finally! Someone to ease the ache of my loins!"

Silence fell before Lucy lifted her arm to peak at Vander and the two burst into fits of belly laughs.

He could hardly contain his long enough to grit out between breaths, "What kind of ye olde bullshit was that?"

Wiping a tear from her eye with a wide toothy smile on her face, she also had to push through her erratic breathing from the bout of giggles. "I read a lot of classics."

Unfortunately for the two, their good time lasted about thirty seconds longer before a thud sounded from the roof and Lucy gave Vander a look to give her best at looking less freaked out than she felt while his arm almost instinctively shot out to protect her.

"How long do you want to run from this," was all he asked her as he listened to another softer thud to mark Zen's entrance into the house through one of the windows upstairs.

Lucy's wide brown eyes were following the pathway the other Pradesh was walking from her spot below him as she answered softly but the emotion in her voice was resolute. "I've never really cared for running, Van."

His lips split into a genuine smile as he shook his head with more mirth than either of them were expecting. "Well, let's see how this turns out then. How much you willing to bet Bixy-boo tries to get me killed after this?"

Lucy let out a scoff of a laugh before patting his shoulder reassuringly, "Don't really think Bix can blame you for this one."

Zen's heavy bootfalls were at the top of the stairs making their descent as Vander and Lucy waited just off the landing for him.

Her hands were shaking with what she thought was just nervous anticipation but it was the reaction of her magic to his at being so close. It was like the uncontrollable urge to scratch an itch except all over her body and it was starting to make her squirm. It got so bad before Zen came into view, she let out a rough groan and started pacing, her back away from the one person who could help her.

Zen's Archangel magic was having a different reaction to the bright warmth Lucy's magic brought him; his limbs were starting to get heavy as were his eyelids as the giddy feeling drowsy bliss took over. The closer he got to that infuriatingly perfect smell of burnt sugar and jasmine, the more he was ready to curl up at her feet and revel in the way she drained his body of all his tension and replaced it with soothing heat.

He faintly registered the smaller form of his youngest brother before Lucy finally turned around to face him, her hair fanning around her flushed heart-shaped face and he felt his heart stop. This wasn't like the other meetings he's had with Celestial Mages.

She couldn't help they way her jaw dropped when she took in the nearly six and half foot beast of a man soaking her in like she was the sun. His skin was scarred with more stories than she could count and his face was a younger, almost sharper version of their fathers handsome features. Even the long length of matching mahogany hair was a mirror of Arman's but Lucy couldn't take her eyes of the shining flecks of gold catching the light from above to make the purple surround them seem deeper.

In a hushed breath, Zen spoke more to himself than either of the other people there, "Finally." His magic was already tugging at him to close the gap between them and his feet were following suite, ready to end the madness he'd been dealing with from her absence.

All of Vander's warnings were running through her head and she was trying to keep a level head but he was the most beautiful person she'd ever seen and he was giving her gooey, melty eyes that were working wonders for the tremors in her muscle. So instead of fighting it, her hands searched for him and her feet moved to meet him.

When they came together, everything seemed to freeze in a tentative moment of pure uncertainty between the two strangers before his rough hand came up to cradle her face the moment her hand traced over the black lines of his feather-like tattoos covering much of his arms and shoulders, bare from the unexpected use of his wings.

Just as Lucy was about let out a dreamy sigh of epic proportions, Zen had scooped her up in his arms with the goal of laying her down in the closest bed and finally, finally, falling to sleep.

Lucy, however, was not in the loop and her eyes went doeish as she looked up to really look at the missing Pradesh's face. What she wasn't expecting to see on his handsome face were dark circles under his bright eyes, the weight of eyelids obviously getting the better of him as they fell to half-lidded. It eased her of the thoughts that she was about to get her wish and break the dry spell she had been going through without actually having spoken to Zen.

The Archangel had managed to make his way into one of the spare rooms meant for another of his brothers but he had little care about where they ended up and set the doe-eyed beauty on the edge of the bed that had to be Kaleb's by the messy way he left the bed. His voice was clearly on the cusp of exhaustion as he knelt to tug off her boots, "I need to sleep and apparently, I need you to do that. I'm Zen and it would be really great if you would sleep here with me."

By the time he finished, he had already gotten one of her boots off and was working adeptly at getting the other of them off before she could even respond with a slow nod of her head, "Lucy, and I have no desire to leave," as she lifted her foot to help him with her shoes.

There was something awkward about the ease of the whole situation that Lucy just couldn't quite place as she scooted herself backward and the massive bulk of muscle crawled over to her and laid his head right over her heart, the rest of his body half laying on her, half sprawled over the bed before he soundly fell asleep without any further prompting.

Her arms were still suspended on either side of her from when she moved them to let him get comfortable as she mapped the softer look on his face, one hand moving to comb through the silky length of dark hair and the other reaching to grab another pillow to give her something to put under her back to make her position a little more comfortable seeing as how she wasn't moving until he did.

She had almost managed to fall asleep when she heard lazy footsteps heading towards her bedroom for the night and it pulled a yawn from deep in her lungs as she rubbed her eyes to try and see in the dark of the night.

Squinting as the lithe frame leaned in the doorway, she could tell they were holding something in each of their hands and her head tilted.

The easy drawl that only Vander could wield so masterfully sounded from his post at the door and Lucy felt a relief wash over her and her shoulders relaxed once again. "So I found an all-night ice cream place and you'll never guess what flavor they had on special."

She gave the unpredictable man a smile as he crossed the room to unabashedly flop on the other side of the bed with them to hand her a swirly pinkish cone, his voice just a hair softer as he answered his own question, "Strawberry Shortcake and I am a sucker for strawberries. I've noticed you also tend to favor the sweet juicy strawberry as well. Go on, just take a lick and you won't regret it." Nudging the cone just a little closer as his brows waggled playfully down at her, he took a drawn lick of his own half-eaten cone with a dirty moan, "Gods, this is orgasmic, Lucy. You're really missing out."

His ridiculous antics caused airy giggles to bubble from her lips as she took the thoughtful treat. "Thanks, Van. I wasn't really tired when Zen...laid down…? And I was starting to boredom sleep." She paused to lick her own melting ice cream cone before her own satisfied moan rumbled her chest and her eyes when wide, a blush crossing her cheeks as she squeaked out, "Yeah, that's good."

Now having a hand free, he braced it behind his head as he continued to tease the blonde, "I guess I should just start calling you sis now, huh? Probably would be inappropriate to make a move on you now." He went back to lapping at his cone while he eyed her with a devilish gleam in his eye.

"Yeah, probably not the best time," gesturing down at her lap full of happily unconscious Archangel mage whose arms had wrapped around her like a stuffed animal while his face stayed nestled in her breasts.

He gave another shrug before poking her side and making her jump from the intrusion of her sensitive, ticklish sides.

Shooting him a harmless glare, she moved to try and poke him back when she realized she hadn't been taking care of the dripping cone in her hand and watched in horror as two, three, four fats drops fell right on Zen's chiseled cheek. She looked to Vander for help but he was halfway backed out of the room when her pleading eyes met his.

Hissing out as quietly as she could, "Vander...Vander don't leave me like this...Van! Vander!"

He gave a casual wave over his shoulder before chuckling out as he made his way cheerily down the hall, "Sorry sis, have fun dealing Zen and try not to wake him up!"

Without having much choice, she tried to throw the rest of the messy cone in the small trash bin beside desk at the foot of the bed and managed to hit the side of the plastic trash can to make the whole thing tip and fall over. The crash was apparently just enough to jostle the former gladiator into a sleepy form of consciousness he didn't ask for.

Trying to soothe him as best she could with one hand covered in the sticky remnants of her strawberry shortcake ice cream and the other working double time to keep his hair out of her mess on his face, her voice was soft and lilting as his droopy eyes met hers, "Sorry, big guy. My clumsiness sort of overflowed and your face took the worst of it. It's just a little ice cream drippage that I can easily get-"

"Just lick it off and lay down, woman," was all he was saying about the matter as he rolled onto his back, scratched at the impressive set of ripped abs he had and waited for her to come to him.

Lucy just blinked for a minute before looking at the mess in her right hand and the pink slowly making its way down Zen's tanned jaw and resolving in getting up to get ready for bed properly. Before she could reach the edge of the bed, his calloused hand wrapped around her arm in a tender motion that pulled at her chest in ways that made her want to stay in the bed despite the idea being impractical.

"I'm just going to wash up then I'll be right back. Does that sound okay?"

She heard his body settle back over to where he had rolled over before he gruffed out, "Be quick."

She debated whether or not she wanted to try and find a shirt to sleep in but ended up just washing her hands, cleaning her face of what little makeup she wore and stepping out of her little skirt to leave her in the high-collared tank top she started the night in and a pair of silky grey panties with sheer lace at the hips.

She carefully made her way beside the bed with a warm washcloth in hand to clean up the fast-asleep Pradesh before setting it to the side and curling up on the other side of him. Like before, his body turned to wrap her up in him and a relieved sigh left them both before the dark behind her eyelids finally took her too.


	3. Summit Part 1- BAMF Lucy

Summit- A BAMF Lucy Fic (I promise there will be a Pradesh Pairing happy ending)

It had been a week since the guild disbanded and her nakama spread like dust in the wind. She had read Natsu's note a thousand times and cried over it more times than she'd like to admit. With nothing to keep her in Magnolia anymore, she started to wonder just why she stayed in her tiny, studio apartment; why she stayed in a town with nothing to offer her except bittersweet memories and sad looks of pity for the last Fairy remaining. No, she didn't want to be that sad, beautiful blonde that stuck around holding on to something when everyone else left to be...whatever the hell it is her nakama wanted to be without Fairy Tail. Unlike them, Fairy Tail was the untouchable fantasy of a wishful oppressed child that turned out to be a dream come true. Sure she had been raised as 'privileged' with all the amenities that went with the title of heiress; a house big enough that when she left at sixteen there were still parts she hadn't ever been in, a fleet of expertly trained staff that had a keen sense of rigid discipline they were expected to use on willful, disobedient children and the crown jewel to it all, an education that royals would have been jealous of. It was the only time she was allowed to ask questions freely and she took advantage of it. By the time she was six, she was reading at a young adult's level and had already read and absorbed half of the books in the Grand Library at the Heartfilia Konzern. Her sharp intelligence and thirst for knowledge had scared her father but her mother had always encouraged her and helped her by getting more books on broader topics and better tutors for the gifted child. By the time she was eight, her mathematics tutor had run out of things to teach her and her science tutor couldn't keep up with the questions she would ask in earnest so they were replaced by tutors in business, diplomacy and accounting. By ten, she had memorized the laws of Fiore, all of them, and could read and write in over twenty languages and she was still learning new ones. When her mother died, her English, writing and magic lessons ceased at the request of her father and were replaced by etiquette lessons to improve her chances of churning out a more advantageous marriage for the betterment of the Heartfilia name and business. She was fourteen when she officially came out to society and started accompanying her father in all his business meetings and to get hands on lessons within the company that was to be hers someday, or more accurately, her husbands. Her father had sent her to many potential suitors homes to see if the match was a good fit and Lucy always found a way to ruin it. Whether be the fact that the man simply resented her for being smarter than him or for embarrassing him within his own home or once, she told the carriage driver to keep going when she watched a man more than three times her age hit one of the young men lining the walkway to the main house, but she always found a way to get out of it without earning Jude Heartfilia's wrath. The last occurrence had ended in the absorption of the abusive man's small communications company and had doubled the profit of the railway almost overnight in her clever hands. When her father had accepted a proposal from a man his own age with a slimy reputation in all his business dealings, she ran away from the life that never really fit for her. Happy to leave behind the cold, calculating facade she had adopted to keep her heart from being hurt behind, Fairy Tail had let her completely drop her guard. Let her be the carefree, forgiving, feeling individual she would have been if being an heiress hadn't been force-fed to her as a child. Sitting in her little apartment alone after a week of crying herself to sleep had her thinking that maybe a good middle ground was needed to protect herself from being this hurt again. So she asked Virgo to store her few things of importance, she officially cancelled her lease at the relief of her old landlady and she made the trip back to where it all started, the Heartfilia Konzern.

Since her father's death, all but the main house had been sold off and kept in a trust on the terms that Lucy would receive the full amount from the sales in addition to the deed to the main house if she returned and stayed on the property for a month. Of course, when she had Fairy Tail it was a ridiculous notion so she just told the lawyer that if it ever came to that she would want to fulfill the terms, she would get a hold of him. That happened a week after her final night in Magnolia.

She spent the first week back in her childhood home exploring all the off-limits places she wasn't allowed to go as a small girl. Looking through her father's office had been an eye-opening experience to say the least, but changed her mind none. The rest of her month relegated to the large empty mansion was spent with her spirits. She used her time to focus on utilizing the latent magic in her body that her summoning didn't even touch. Loke had helped her focus it into a physical power with the help of three of his stars as rings, Regulus, Denebola and Adhafera. Regulus sat as a simple but thick gold band on her left middle finger, Denebola as a matching thick golden band on her right hand and Adhafera was a three-part gold taloned ring on her right index finger, the base an intricate lion's head, the center a thin gold band connected to the deadly claw-like cap. Between the three, her Celestial magic could be channeled into her own unique brand of Celestial Light Magic that centered around using a mage's momentum against them before landing quick, crippling blows to render them unconscious by putting Light blocks in their flow of magic. Anytime the restless blonde wasn't training, she was going through and finding buyers for the antiquities of the house. She wanted everything gone by the time her month was up. All except the books of the libraries, mostly the ones in her mother's private study which Virgo had graciously offered to hold for her until there was a time when they had a permanent home. By her last night in the house she was raised in, she had gone through all her mother's books and found an odd leather-bound book titled 'Canines and the Stars that bore them' that turned out to be fake and instead held the last Canis Major silver key on Earthland and the Great Dog Spirit had granted her both Adhara, which she held as an inch wide twisted white gold band that sat at the top of her now well-defined right bicep and Sirius, which she kept as a golden septum ring with one brilliant diamond at its peak flanked by two smaller deep blue diamonds. The dainty design mimicking that of the worshipers of the old Gods of Bosco as the gold point beneath the radiant diamond settled neatly in her philtrum barely kissed the top of her pouty lips. With the addition of the brightest star in the night sky and it's brother, she hummed with the magic powers that were permanently set in her body, only able to be removed by the spirits that granted them to her and herself with great effort.

After she had settled everything she needed to with the lawyer, she told him to find a buyer for the main house and use the money to invest in a few of the young, up-and-coming businesses she remembered from her days with her father and to put the rest back in a savings account that would accrue positive interest at the Royal Bank in Crocus while she left it untouched. After the small, wiry man tried to argue with the spirited young woman and was quickly put in his place, he gave a curt nod and followed her instructions flawlessly. She then took the bank notes from the real estate her father had sold to the bank Wiry Beady Lawyer Guy had instructed her would invest them for her to get them cashed instead. The bank had fits but ultimately had to do as she asked and little blonde put a quarter of it back with her books in the Celestial Realm and the rest went into her savings in Crocus, cutting all ties to the Heartfilia Konzern and Jude Heartfilia's business dealings to travel across Earthland as she saw fit as an Independent Mage.

Just over a year later, Lucy was back in Fiore for the first time since she sold the house to check on her account at the Royal Bank after having finally completed the Platinum key set when she happened to stumble on Cetus, the Sea Serpent in the southeastern most Asellima Bay while on a pirate ship trying to get back to Enca on a rumor that someone had found a diamond key of unknown origins. The rumor happened to be a total bust but she couldn't really be too unhappy about adding five new members to her family.

She had changed a lot in her time away from Fiore. Her shoulder-length golden blonde hair now fell well below the curve of her back and it was pulled back from her face in intricate tangles of smaller knots and braids with white-blonde streaks that gave her an Nordic-style mohawk look. She kept the right side of her head shaved to show off the golden tattoo of Aquarius' constellation and the now eleven separate yellow and white gold piercings that were a combination of lesser stars given freely by her spirits and ways for the blonde to remember her time traveling. She had started with only getting the tattoos of the constellations she currently held, but quickly decided that her love of the night sky and all it cradled in its embrace were important and family to her whether she ever held their key in her hand or not, so the rest of her slightly tanned and freckled skin from the time she spent in the sun was covered in the 88 constellations, Leo's being centered over her heart, Virgo's over the back of her right hand and forearm, Cancer's over her left and the rest of her Zodiacs moving up her arms before covering her shoulders and moving down her back. All the twelve Zodiac's where golden and the rest of the constellations were silver to honor them and the special relationship she had with them. She was wearing her usual pair of soft, form-fitting dark brown leather pants, matching padded one-shoulder leather corseted top with her knee-high armored leather boots as she walked into the bank with Cetus. The Sea Serpent spirit used a unique mixture of water and lightning magic that she had been having trouble controlling when she used his Stardress and wanted to ask the tall, lean, deeply tanned man with dark green long hair he kept in a low ponytail that reminded her of the way Freed wore his hair about how she could better control the water so she stopped electrocuting everything indiscriminately. Her pale gold eyes reflected the metallic glean from her use of Light Magic under the harsh lighting overhead as they looked up into his coal black pools to ask in earnest, completely oblivious to the odd looks they were getting at not only her very unorthodox appearance but also the fact that Cetus wore traditional white skirt-like pants slung low on his hips and a pair of deep brown leather boots and that was all had the proper, stuffy population that usually used the Royal Bank aghast. He had two bands of jade that wrapped around his biceps shaped like serpents also but those did very little to cover his lithe body. Lucy had long since gotten over the staring and blissfully ignored them as her bright lilting voice laced with genuine inquiry, "I'm just having trouble keeping the water contained. I always end up sending a massive wave and then the lightning just kind of...you know, hits everything which is fine if I need to take out a whole dark guild but most of the time, I am not in need of the stunned wildlife I hit. I spend more time nursing them back to health than actually fighting the correct targets."

His extremely deep, smooth voice washed over her like plush velvet as he walked beside her with his arms behind his back, "I think that would be your problem, Princess. Water is an element of change and intuition. It will naturally heed you if you keep your will fluid, your thoughts fluid and requires very little control in the hard sense of 'go here, do this'. You have to think through each of the steps from point A to point B and let it flow on its own. When you get the basic feel of it, you'll be able to summon raging storms but let's keep it small for now. We can practice when we get out of the capital.   
You've never had a Water Spirit like me before so it's not odd that it's harder to grasp."

"Tch, you're telling me. I can't even equip Cassiopeia's Stardress yet because her magic is so hard to grasp. She keeps telling me to meditate and focus on the spiritual energy around me but every time I meditate and then try to put it on, I always end up naked and my clothes disappear into the Spirit World," grumbling under her breath just before she walked up to the handsome young teller in a well-tailored suit with sandy blonde, slicked back hair, "Which I only learned when I went to grab another book instead of one of you telling me."

When she finally caught the young man's attention, she watched his eyes widen before he gathered himself from the warm smile she had sent him, "Hello, my name is Lucy Heartfilia. I'm here to review my account."

He looked between the pair before stuttering out, "O-of course, Miss Heartfilia. Let me just...go grab your information."

Her voice was casual as she gave the starstruck man another winning smile, "That won't be necessary..." looking at his nameplate before meeting his muddy green eyes,"...Benjimin. I already have my account number, it should be under HK6352-22. I just wanted to check that the interest is accumulating properly so you can just bring me the final bank statement for April and I'll be out of your hair."

"Uh, right. I'll...just go grab that for you, Miss Heartfilia."

She leaned over the counter, giving the handsome teller a nice view of her ample chest before he voice dropped a little lower than before, "Thank you, Benjimin and please, call me Lucy."

He blinked at her a few times before leaving to get her requested information. The smooth voice of her spirit laced with amusement as he gave her a sly smile, "'Thank you, Benjimin' 'Please, call me Lucy, Benjimin'. Feeling a little frustrated from our journey here, Princess?"

Giving her snide spirit a flirty look from beneath her lashes, "I was stuck on that boat for weeks and none of those men had any idea what they were doing. The only orgasms I got were the result of my pretty little fingers," wiggling her left hand in front of the chuckling man's face for dramatic effect.

When she finally pulled her hand from his face, he spoke surprisingly light for a man with a voice deep enough to send a shiver down your back, Lucy included, "Maybe you should have stayed in Bosco for longer. I've yet to have the pleasure of visiting myself."

As if she really needed a reason to go back to her favorite country, she raised her brow in surprise before evenly stating, "We will just have to go back so you can experience the pleasure." She held his even gaze for a few moments before bursting into fits of melodic laughter that resonated throughout the cavernous building, her hard to break spirit letting a small grin stretch his lips before Benjimin returned.

The sandy blonde's voice was full of obvious wonder as he handed her the statement, "Miss Heart- Lucy, it seems you've left your account untouched and it has made quite a bit of jewel. Will you be making a withdrawal today?"

Without taking her eyes from the paper as she read over it carefully, her voice distracted as she focused, "No withdrawals today, Benji." When she had finished reading over it and everything looked in order with no discrepancies, she turned her attention back to him, her eyes shining with something akin to a predator scoping out prey, "Thank you so much for your time, Benji. Did you happen to have any plans for dinner tonight? I know this little Minstrellan restaurant that overlooks the gardens and it's just too good not to share."

Another few blinks of his eyes stalled his response before he finally took in what her words meant and he was answering eagerly, "I get off at five and I love Minstrellan food."

Lucy saw the look Cetus was giving her from the corner of her eye as she smoothly answered her date for the night, "I'll meet you out front at five then. See you later, sugar," before turning heel and making her way to the shops to find herself a killer outfit and a hotel room for her hot date.

She had booked a room for the week at the Honey Bone Inn for old times sake. The older couple that ran it didn't recognize her and she used a different last name to keep it that way before making her way downtown to the shops to browse the boutiques. She had a few hours to kill so she was taking her time, stopping at the little stalls along the street that sold jewelry and hair pieces. She spotted a little ring intended for a dainty pinky finger that was made of thirteen gold stars and fell in love. Right after she paid the pretty blunette woman running the stall, she pulled a thick rope of her hair from the nape of her neck that was bound in a thin, crisscrossing silver thread and pushed the little band up to sit five inches from her scalp with a bright smile on her face.

The tattooed beauty had bought a strawberry milkshake and was leaned over the side of one of the many bridges throughout Crocus' streets to look over the water of the canals when the hair on her arms stood on end and she turned her head to see the last person she expected to see walking down the middle of the busy shop district of the capitol on a path that would cross with hers in less than thirty seconds; Laxus Dreyar all by himself in all his Thunder God glory. He really was annoyingly good looking. Sexy in a total dominating way that made her blood heat and her magic hum. He must have sensed her magic's intense pressure as his golden spiked head swiveled to try and pinpoint just where the massive energy was coming from. She smirked to herself before turning back to look over the water. The Lightning Dragon would come to her and when he did, she would see if his nose was good enough to recognize her after all this time apart.

Laxus had been on his way to the Magic Council after completing another of their wild goose chases for another rogue Rune Knight when he felt it; a magic so strong, it even gave his magic pause. He tried to subtly look around the busy street to find just who the hell could be putting off that much magical pressure. He slowed his movements to look over the crowd before his eyes landed on the perfect hourglass figure of a woman dressed in skin-tight brown leather bent over the railing of one of the bridges. She had enough jewelry on her to keep even ore for brains happy and damn, did it make the little amazon woman look all the more appealing. Take the hypnotic lines of the metallic and black tattoos covering her lightly tanned skin and the fact that half her long blend of golden-white blonde hair was shaved and that she was most definitely the source of the impressive magic he was feeling, he almost had to readjust himself right in the center of downtown Crocus with the way his body reacted to her. Maybe this trip to the Magic Council wouldn't be a total bust after all.

When he got close enough to mirror her position on her right side, he noticed she had a lot more piercings than he originally saw from across the street. In addition to the cuffs, hoops and studs of her ear, she had an expensive looking ring settled between her nostrils that drew his attention to the perfect pout of her cupid's bow lips before he caught the flash of a simple golden stud centered between her bottom lip and her chin. She didn't wear any makeup and her lashes were thick as molasses as they framed her bright golden eyes. He couldn't help but wonder if there was anything about this little beauty that wasn't gilded before her voice, lilting and smooth as silk filled his head space. He was already almost dizzy from her magic and that paired with her irresistible body and sexy voice, he was sure this woman was an angel, "Can I help you, big boy?" Oh, he was definitely thankful for the Magic Council's idiocy for making his path cross with hers.

His deep baritone held it's usual drawl as he smirked down at the blonde, "Depends. What do think I need help with?"

She still wasn't looking at him as she smiled and took another sip from the light pink drink, her lips wrapping around the straw in a show that had his pants becoming uncomfortable before answering easily, "Man like you? I can't imagine you'd need anything from me that you couldn't get from any one of these lovely ladies. I can assure you, you'd have an easier time getting the type of help you want from someone else. I'm pretty particular but...," turning to look him over in a showy once over, "a mage built like you? Yeah, you definitely have a chance at least."

The Lightning Slayer had never been talked to like, well, that before. He was used to women falling at his feet and why shouldn't they? He was tall, rippling with bulging muscles, had the sexy scar and he exuded the raw power of the apex predator he was. The woman had caught his attention with her magic and tight, well-built intriguing body that showed she was a fighter and a well trained one at that but her quick dismissal and easy confidence had caught his dragon's attention. It was rare for his dragon to stir even in the heat of battle.

Before he could say anything, the mystery woman had tossed her drink in a nearby trash can and her right hand, covered in a wicked looking set of rings that included a deadly golden talon, had wrapped around his forearm, her voice playful and light, "Well I hate to cut this short, big boy, but I've got a date to get to. I'll be seeing you again though, don't you worry about that."

And just like that she was gone. He stood dumbfounded for a moment before her tried to find her again in the crowd but even her magic was gone and he was left with a hard-on in the middle of downtown fucking Crocus on his way to meet with the Magic Council.

Lucy couldn't help but laugh to herself when she stepped through her gate and into the room at the Honey Bone to get ready to meet with Benji the bank teller for her well-earned date that would hopefully end with them both falling into the simple white sheets of her hotel room.

 

The next morning, the Celestial mage had woken up splayed over a naked chest and she desperately needed to shift. The points of her sun-shaped nipple shields were pinching the rosy pink skin in a less than pleasurable way and she had to pee. As quietly as she could, she escaped her bed and made a beeline for the bathroom. When she came back out, dressed in a thin, white cotton v-neck that hid nothing beneath it's worn, sheer fabric and a pair of black seamless boyshorts with her hair piled haphazardly on top of her head, Benjimin had woken up and was pulling on the now crumpled white dress shirt from yesterday having already pulled his black slacks on. Lucy had already let him know at dinner last night that she was only in Crocus for the week and probably wouldn't be back for another year or so with the way she bounced around, so when he buttoned the bottom four buttons of his shirt up and pulled on his shoes, she walked him to her door at the Honey Bone, gave him a very memorable goodbye kiss before sending him on his way. She was leaning in her doorway when the door to the room opposite of her opened to reveal none other than Laxus' own Seith Mage dressed in a pair of black shorts, a tight compression t-shirt and trainers that worked very well for his tall, lean, muscled body.

Feeling good after a night of decent sex, she gave the towering mage a sly grin, her voice its usual lilt, "Morning, neighbor."

Finally turning around, he looked her over to take in the scantily clad, beautifully decorated woman that came maybe to his collar before answering smoothly, something she had expected from the handsome Boscan, "A good morning it is, sweetheart."

Raising a perfectly arched brow, she crossed her arms under her breast, unintentionally giving the blunette a very clear view of her piercings and her cleavage, "Going for a run?"  
It took a few moments before he found his voice again, "Uh, yeah. Better to get it in early before the streets fill up."

Genuinely excited at the prospect of having a running partner, her voice grew bright as she earnestly asked, "If you don't mind the company, it would take me ten seconds to get ready. I could use a good stretch."

Giving her a wide smile, his response was easy as he crossed his arms over his broad chest and leaned back on his door, "Take all the time you need. I'll be right here but I have to warn you, I won't take it easy on you just because you're scary gorgeous."  
She couldn't help but roll her eyes as she gave him another sly smile and responded evenly, "I'll try to keep up, handsome."

Lucy quickly made her way back into her room to pull on a pair of dark grey spandex shorts, replaced her shirt for a tight black sports bra with mesh panels on the sides and up the razorback and tugged her white shirt back on before pulling her light trainers and meeting the Seith Mage to start their early morning run. They started off relatively easy before the playful blunette started his usual parkour which the little agile blonde matched twist for flip. After another forty-five minutes of free running and climbing all over Crocus, the towering man had his hands behind his head as he tried to even his breathing out, "Damn, woman. I've never met anyone who can keep up with me."  
With her own wide smile, her left hand grabbed a hold of her right wrist as her right forearm laid across the top of her head, her voice just as breathless as his, "Oh yeah? I'm not really surprised by that. You're quite the agile man for your size."

Unable to resist, he answered as smoothly as his lungs would allow, "You have no idea, sweetheart, but if you want to find out I'd be more than happy to show you."

She let out an airy laugh before shaking her head, "You don't even know who I am."

In a dramatic show, her ex-guildmate took her hand and kissed her tattooed knuckles, "Bickslow Pradesh, love. It's extremely nice to meet you...?"

Pulling her hand out of his hand to pat his cheek with a cheeky grin on her face, her voice low and teasing, "Oh, I didn't say I didn't know your name, huney. But thanks for the stretch. I'd love to it again tomorrow morning."

Blinking his deep red eyes obviously confused at her words, his voice heavy with the emotion, "Uh...what...?" before she again, opened her gate and made a quick escape from the handsome tanned Boscan.

After she had showered and had wrapped a towel around her curves, the familiar voice of her Lion spirit sounded from where he had relaxed across her bed, "Don't you think you're being a little cruel, Princess?"

Blinking at him owlishly, she pulled the towel from her body to squeeze the water from her thick ropes of hair and leave her toned body bare for the Leader of the Zodiac, "I don't know what you mean, Leo. It's not my fault they don't recognize me anymore."

Rolling his eyes at her blatant baiting with her naked body, the Lion pushed his blue-tinted glasses further up his nose before his silky voice came out exasperated, "You know exactly what I mean. First Laxus yesterday and now Bickslow. You had plenty of time to tell both of them who you were and you plan on meeting him again tomorrow morning. You know I'm all for your tricksy ways but they are still nakama."

In a rare flash of anger from the blonde, she snapped her eyes to meet his, her magic flaring around her at the momentary lack of control, "Nakama or not, they left me behind, Loke. Why should I be falling over myself to make sure they know its me when they didn't bother to even let me know where they were going. I planned on telling Bickslow tomorrow morning and when I see Laxus again, I'll tell him. It's just a good, honest laugh."

Rolling his eyes once again, "And the shameless flirting? Is that also just for a good, honest laugh?"

"No, Leo, that's because Bickslow and Laxus are extremely attractive, sexually active men who I happened to like flirting with. I don't have the same hang-up of sleeping with and/or dating someone in my guild to worry about anymore. There won't be any awkward morning after and I won't have to deal with prying team mates and guild members," pausing her words to pull on a lacy hunter green thong and her usual leather outfit before sighing and sitting next to the ginger spirit and her closest friend, "I just wanted to see how they would treat me if they didn't know I was Lucy Heartfilia, professional damsel in distress and Light of Fairy Tail. I wanted to see how they would react to the powerhouse mystery woman with a hard-earned kick-ass confidence. I don't know if their reactions made me feel better or worse honestly." Which was the truth. The fact that they both were obviously just as taken with her as she was of them definitely was a bonus, but what was stopping them from showing that attraction before they left? Was she really that unattractive before? Was it just because she was a guildmate and practically untouchable with the way her overbearing team was?

Wrapping his arm around her slumped shoulders, he reassured his Celestial Mage easily, "Lucy, you've come so incredibly far. You've created your own Celestial Light magic which is unheard of, you have your own Gate that you control, you've traveled the world and earned your place among the most talented and powerful mages. You can't keep holding yourself to the standards of the past and you can't hold our nakama to them either. Bitterness doesn't suit you, Princess," before running his thumb over Denebola and Adhafera making them glow under his touch.

Taking a steadying breath, she gave him a closed-mouth smile, her voice quiet, "I know. I know, I'm sorry. I was planning on taking a walk through the Royal Gardens to see how they've changed. Want to join me?"

"I'd love to escort you as your gallant prince," before standing and offering the giggling blonde his arm which she immediately took and the two were out the door.

The walk through the streets to get to the lush gardens passed in a blur and when Lucy had seen they had added a new hedge maze to the gardens, she practically squealed with delight. She gave her Lion spirit a hurried kiss goodbye before shooing him back to the Spirit World so she could start her wandering through the carefully tended greenery.

The Celestial Mage liked to pride herself on her quick wit and ability to figure things like hedge mazes out but she had been in stuck in the hedges for hours and she had yet to find the center. She had found a wonderful little piece of sanctuary in an alcove with a little iron bench surrounded by bright red tulips where she very happily rested for a few minutes before continuing on her journey. That had been three hours ago and she was feeling less inclined to the positive flower vibes as she muttered under her breath, "Frickin' Labyrinth I've found myself stuck in. The moment I see a man in tights with a baby, I'm taking my gate out of here. Pride be damned."

Four more wrong turns, an old arched trellis with closed moonflowers and a lot of choice swear words later, Lucy had heard the sweet sound of water. The sound of a lot of moving water that only meant she was close to the center that held a massive fountain to honor Princess Hisui and her own rare Celestial Magic that she had been excited to see until she had found herself starving in the mid-afternoon sun six hours after she started this horrible maze. Steeling her resolve and letting the prospect of finally making it to the fountain seep into her bones, she felt renewed as she started the final twists and turns with a bright, determined smile on her face and a sweet song on her lips.

She had been sitting on the wide wall surrounding the beautiful white marble and gold-leaf fountain that reminded her of the grand fountains in Minstrel with her bare feet in the water leaned back to take in the beauty of the stone representations of the Twelve Zodiacs with a fearsome lion at its peak when she heard the sounds of people approaching from the other side of the fountain. Having been incredibly comfortable and relaxed with the soothing clear water kissing the bottoms of her bunched pantlegs, her greaves laying in the grass behind her and the sun shining over the skin of her mostly exposed chest, she decided to let them be and close her eyes to continue her sunbathing, craning her neck back to let her hair fall over the edge of the stone and tickle the backs of her arms to pull an easy smile from her lips as she hummed a simple lullaby her mother used to sing to her.

"I just think it's a little odd that Fiore doesn't have any ambassadors for itself so when things like this happen, we don't have to travel all the way here ourselves. I have a guild to run, you know." Whoever had joined her sounded less annoyed and more teasing but she had to admit, the accent he spoke in gave him away as Boscan right away and it was almost enough to pull her from her reverie. Almost but not quite.

"That's why we are here. The relationship between our governments is about to become inevitably tied and we are here to help the Princess select a liaison specifically to stop us from taking the trip ourselves. Don't think I don't know that the White Sea runs flawlessly without you there, little brother. You've been asked by the King for your highly valued opinion to make sure these hand-picked individuals will be loyal and worthy of the title and responsibility."

At the mention of the White Sea, the largest and most successful guild in Bosco and in her opinion, all of Earthland, her brain had stuttered through its thoughts and when it finally came back together that at least one of her new fountain friends was none other than the guildmaster himself, she listened in, her curiosity piqued. She didn't spend very much time in the capital city where the White Sea's guild was located but they were legend throughout Bosco and she had heard rumors about the young, stunning Mindbender Wizard Saint who lead them. It bothered her to no end that she had yet to actually see what the man looked like though. Her pale yellow eyes cracked open to see if they had made their way around the fountain yet when she felt a pull on her magic that her know one of her spirits was coming out to join her.

While his older brother had been right, the guild did run itself while he was gone thanks to his own genius job management system that kept it going like the well-oiled machine the White Sea was under his careful watch, he still didn't particularly see why his presence specifically made a difference in who gets to be the Fioran Liaison to the Boscan government and the first official ambassador for Fiore as a whole. He actually rather liked the capital city of Crocus. There were plenty of sexually repressed women willing to share his bed, the streets were clean and well-maintained and the gardens definitely met their world-wide reputation, but if he was being honest with himself, he was bored. There was a reason he created the system that organized, filed and dolled out all the requests that came through the guild and handled the paperwork for him so he didn't have to be relegated to being stuck behind a desk. They had been here for a week already and they were no closer to finding the golden one to fill the spot of ambassador. There just weren't many high-ranking officials left in the ranks of Fioran government to chose from that had an open enough mind to be able to handle Boscan culture that the Princess, soon-to-be Queen, trusted with her people's best interest at heart. Farron's reputation as a well-decorated and respected Ambassador of Bosco was only rivaled by their father and for as long as he was in Crocus, Kaleb had to be here as well to act as a body guard for the only just shorter mahogany-haired Sound Mage. He repressed the urge to roll his lavender eyes before they came around the beautiful fountain that held twelve massive representations of the Zodiac spirits to lay his eyes on a small golden-haired woman with curves like no other laughing as she and a small child with raven-black hair pulled into low pigtails splashed and played in the clear blue water of the fountain. She was radiant in the most fantastically all-consuming way. He was also pretty sure you were not allowed to use the fountain as a wading pool.

His brother's own amused voice broke his thoughts, "I wonder if they know this isn't a public pool?"

"They went through a lot of trouble to get to it if that's what they thought. This maze is insanely complicated and I sure as hell wouldn't put myself through it just to get my toes wet."

Lucy's bright melodious voice broke through as she let Andromeda splash her before wrapping her in a bear hug and pulling the little giggling girl down into the shallow water with her, "That's so cheating,   
Andy! You can't wrap my legs with your magic just so you win."

The Chained Maiden spirit lifted her head from where she had nestled into the crook of her mage's neck, her darkened silver eyes sparkling with mischief as she shook her head to send droplets of water at the blonde beneath her, "All's fair in love and war, Princess Lulu-chan!"

She let out another peal of laughter before she steeled her golden eyes and kept her arms firm around her spirit as her usual leather outfit flashed and she was wearing a pair of draping white loose harem pants and dark brown boots like Cetus wears with white bindings around her chest and a heavy jade serpent wound around her neck to have its head settle just above her cleavage, her golden hair suddenly silk smooth in a low ponytail with long, thin braids hanging from either side of her face. She gave the little girl her own mischievous slow-curling grin before she let her loose and spoke low but playfully, "I'll give you a five second head start before I adopt your 'all's fair' rule, cutie pie."

She watched her spirit's eyes widen before she burst into high-pitched squealing laughter and tried to scramble away from the Celestial Mage and her Sea Serpent Stardress, the heavy folds of her dark grey Lolita dress weighing her down. She had made it to the other side of the fountain before Lucy spoke again, "Here comes the tsunami, Andy! I hope you're chained to something or I'll never find you again in this ridiculous labyrinth."

Just as she summoned one of her chains and wrapped it around the tail of a beautiful marble mermaid, the little blonde loosed her water magic and Andromeda was thankful for making sure she was secured or she very well would have been long-gone into the hedges.

When Lucy had come around the fountain to find Andromeda and maybe gloat just a little, she realized that she had not been as secluded as she thought. In addition to the two voices she heard earlier, there was a young couple staring at her with ire shining in their eyes from the bench they were sharing, three young ladies dressed in once poofy dress gowns with matching glares directed at her, an older gentleman laughing from where he had landed in the grass and a pair of men she had only assumed to be the Guildmaster of the White Sea and his brother by their alarmingly good looks and deeply tanned skinned. Every single on of them was drenched, head to toe, due to her maybe a little out of control wave from the fountain which left it almost completely devoid of water as her little raven-haired spirit ran up to hug her, her lips split in a wide toothy smile that made it totally worth it,   
"That was AWESOME! I think even Uncle Cetus would be proud, Princess Lulu-chan."

She crouched to give her spirit a hug before speaking low but light, "I'm glad you liked it, hun. I don't think our company liked it quite as much but don't worry about that," ducking her head to whisper in her ear playfully, "but that's cause they all have sticks up their butts. It's hard to laugh like that so we mustn't blame them for it, okay?" The Chained Maiden spirit gave her a few exuberant nods before Lucy stood and asked, "Are you ready to go home and change out of those wet clothes, cutie pie?" Her golden eyes softened when the young girl a little pout but conceded before disappearing, leaving only a few golden sparkles in her wake.

Both Farron and Kaleb had watched the exchange very closely and were trying to hold in their own laughter at the Celestial Mage's whispered words, but before either could speak to her, the Rune Knights stationed around the maze had surrounded her and told her she would need to be taken in for disturbing the peace and displacing the water from the fountain. Which she responded with coolly, "I know, I know. Don't get handsy, chess pieces, I'm going. When you report this, make sure you let Princess Hisui know you manhandled me pretty good before I could replace the water back into the fountain. Tell her a Fairy visited her gardens-"

One of the older Rune Knights cut her off hotly, "Should have known you Fairies would still be causing trouble. Just get to walking, mage."

Two hours of waiting in a holding cell later, Lucy was back in her damp leather as she laid back on the bench. The bars were dampening her magic but she could still talk to her spirits so her only real complaints were coming from her rumbling stomach and water-logged boobs when she heard someone come into the room that held her cell. The Rune Knights on shift must have told the men who rotated in to take their place that they had finally caught a Fairy and she had been visited by most of the younger knights, almost all of the didn't talk to her as they watched her in wonder and they few that did talk to her were only cocky for a few moments before she would meet their eyes with her own glowing gaze to send them running, tails tucked firmly between their legs as they did. 

The buxom blonde didn't even bother getting up from where she had tucked her right hand beneath her head as a pillow as the ends of her hair touched the floor, her left leg bent and propped up on the bench while her right stayed firmly planted on the cool metal beneath as they approached.

She heard someone clear their throat before she turned her head to take in the towering height and broad shoulders of one of the Boscans from the fountain. He had pure platinum hair that he must have pulled half back out of his face after his impromptu shower courtesy of her play with Andromeda and was dressed in a loose white button up that gave little peaks at the ink of a tattoo on his bulging right pec, tight white pants that made her mouth water, black boots with gold trim that came to his knees and he was wearing a surprising amount of jewelry for a man and somehow, that only made him more attractive. Before she had really registered getting up, completely barefoot since she had already taken her greaves off by the fountain when she equipped Cetus' Stardress and that's probably where they still were if she was lucky enough to not lose another pair, to meet the pale lavender, almost light grey, eyes of the Boscan smirking down at her through the bars, his voice deep as it filled her senses. She had to repress the urge to sigh at the smooth silk of it. "I'm here to take you to Princess Hisui, miss. She seemed to have been less than surprised by your arrest. You'll be happy to hear she's dropped all charges as long as you pay for the damages done."

"Lucy," she spoke matter-of-factly but not unkind.

He blinked down at the small spitfire of a woman without any shoes on staring up at him completely unfazed by his size, rank or magic, "What?"

Seemingly appearing to gather herself, she crossed her arms over her chest as she backed away from the door as if to give him space to open her cell and gave him a smirk of a smile that made Sirius glint over her lips dangerously, "My name is Lucy. I get called miss enough by my spirits.' Pausing to really take the delectable man in, she mused playfully, "You're either the illustrious, I sound sarcastic when I say it but I mean it, Guildmaster of the White Sea or you're the Boscan Ambassador responsible for bringing those nifty little airships into Fiore. If you would open the cell to take me my good friend who I haven't seen in far too long, I would very much appreciate that, sir."

The moment he unlocked the cell, she felt the rush of her stars like a warm embrace and his eyes snapped to meet hers, taken aback by the magical power the bars had been suppressing from the Celestial Mage. He had two within his own guild and knew most had a higher than normal amount of magic coursing through their bodies but this small-framed woman with a warriors build, tattooed beauty with more piercings than he's honestly ever seen on mage save the Iron Dragon Slayer of the Magic Council, little beauty who was smiling up at him from behind her glowing, pale golden eyes with flecks of pure gold nestled in their depths had enough power to send a delicious, uncontrollable shiver straight to his core. He was Boscan, damn it. He sees beautiful women everyday and his body chooses now to clam up.

Completely unaware of the beautiful blondes inner-thoughts, Lucy helped him open the cell before clasping her hands behind her back and walking out of the cell to go meet with her fellow Celestial Mage and Crown Royal of Fiore. The Boscan sent to fetch her in tow as she managed to walk the maze of halls seamlessly, her footsteps silent as she hummed pleasantly to herself. Determined to not tarnish the good name of the White Sea and Bosco, he cleared his throat before sliding next to Lucy, his voice thankfully back to normal, "You must have heard of me before today if you think so highly of me without ever having been introduced. I would have remembered a mage like you."

Quirking her head up towards the towering man with a knowing smile, her voice light and airy as she did, "Ah, so the Guildmaster was sent to take the criminal to the Princess. Seems a little overkill for your particular set of skills, don't you think?"

Kaleb couldn't help but be amused by her playful words, "How do you know I'm not the Boscan Ambassador, fatina?"

She let out a rumbling laugh that pulled a wide smile from the Minderbender before finally settling enough to breathe out, "It's a been awhile since I've been called that without some stigma attached to it but I do appreciate the use of Minstrellen. It has always been a favorite of mine, but you acknowledged my magic before anything else and it was a dead giveaway. Diplomats are usually a little more worried about getting people to talk so they can learn as much about them as they can and you've said very little to me so either you're the least invasive diplomat I've ever met in my life or you're a pretty shitty one. Looking at you though, I have a hard time believing there isn't much you wouldn't be good at ergo, you are the sex-on-legs Guildmaster I've heard a lot about in my travels through Bosco."

There were very few people in his life that spoke so frankly to him. Lucy had no problems telling him exactly what she thought and she didn't mince words or bat her lashes at him like a school girl. She liked what she saw obviously but it was almost refreshing to just speak with this whirlwind enigma of a woman who spoke her mind with such a carefree ease as she traversed the castles halls like a frequent guest without even sparing looks at the knights and staff that looked at her appalled by her lack of shoes and overall look that did not fit the very square standards of beauty by Fioran standings. He was unequivocally impressed and intrigued by the Celestial mystery. "If you don't mind me asking, which guild do you belong to? I've a few Celestial Mage's at the Sea but they are few and far between. I happened to get lucky in catching them."

Her voice was distracted as she ran her fingers through the golden tangle of braids and decorated dreadlocks that wound through her thick blonde hair, "Oh, I don't belong to any guild. I'm an independent mage. Mostly I just travel around from place to place and help people with whatever they need done while I look for more keys. I just happened to be in Fiore to check on a few things when the killjoys picked me up. Honestly, they should put up a sign if you're not allowed to enjoy the fountain's water."

Raising a brow at her little rant, his voice turned teasing, "Would that have kept you out of the fountain?"

Giving him mock wide eyes as she spoke in fluent Midish and put on her best confused tourist look. The little blonde didn't even have an ounce of her usual accent as she tilted her head adorably, "Je suis desole, n'est-ce pa...la piscine publique?"

His rumbling laughter echoed through the quiet halls to draw the attention of every single living thing within earshot before he asked his now giggling partner, "Is there a particular reason you've not settled at a guild? I haven't even seen what you can really do and I know would be an asset wherever you chose. I've never felt magic like yours before and it's ridiculously well contained in those curves of yours."

"I'd be more surprised if you told me you'd met someone with my magic before, I use Celestial Light magic my spirits and I created as well as my Summoning and Stardress magics. Maybe I'll take you to dinner sometime and I'll tell you all about it, Guildmaster," and then she was jogging through the doorway where Hisui had her back turned away from them before she wrapped the green-haired royal in a surprisingly affectionate hug from behind, her voice bright, "You've been busy while I've been away, Princess."

Dropping from the conversation with Farron, she twisted around and returned Lucy's hug as she breathed out excitedly, "Lulu! Why didn't you tell me you were back in Fiore? And in Crocus no less. You have to be arrested before you come see me, honestly, I thought you had grown from your destructive Fairy Tail roots."

Kaleb wanted to smack himself for his complete lack of being able to connect context clues and for his distraction from his own magic to put it together; this was Fairy Tail's Celestial Mage, Lucy Heartfilia. Bickslow and Laxus' Lucy, the woman who somehow seemed to find herself in impossible situations that had disappeared without a trace over a year ago. But when he spoke with Bickslow last, yeah she had managed to best his little brother, but she was a princess, or at least that's how both the former-Fairy Tail mages had led him to believe. Born the sole heiress to a company run by one of the most business-savvy men in Fiore with the kind of classic beauty royalty envied and a heart too big for her own good. While she definitely got his blood boiling with her exotic beauty, this woman was far from Fioran standards of high-class. She looked more like she belonged in the pits of Pergrande fighting as a gladiator than behind a desk looking over accounts and business dealings. The look on his older brother's face made him feel a bit better about his own dumbstruck look.

"It's not my fault that insane maze of yours made my feet hurt. They needed a good soak and it's not like I lack respect for the Zodiac Twelve. I had Andromeda out with me and I think it should be her right as a Celestial Spirit to enjoy the water as she sees fit. It's not my fault she happens to have the mannerisms of a child," her voice easy as she pulled back and practically dragged her long-time friend to one of the seating areas to sit next to her with their hands joined.

Princess Hisui's light tinkling giggle rang through the room before her lips settled in a small smile, "I've missed you so much and so have your guildmates. I've gotten several letters from them asking if I knew where you were. I thought you would have at least told them you were traveling, Lulu. It's not like you to leave your nakama in the dark."

The golden mage gave her a sad smile before her voice dropped low and quiet, "I was pretty angry when I left and I made some hasty decisions but I wouldn't change them. My nakama moved on and so did I, it just so happened we moved in different directions. I actually saw both Laxus and Bickslow here in Crocus. Neither of them recognized me while they both tried to get in my pants. I wasn't helping them any but still, you recognized me and we didn't see each other every day for years."

Farron's silky baritone cut in from where he and Kaleb were talking just with earshot of the Celestial Mages, "Pardon me, but did you just say Bickslow was in Crocus? As in, the Seith Mage with the ludicrous tri-hawk hairstyle and overactive tongue."

Her voice was lilting but teasing as she turned to take in the tall drink of water that could only be the Ambassador with his welcoming baby blue eyes and impeccable mahogany hair that made them all the more appealing, "How many other Bickslow's do you know of, handsome?"

Granting her an easy smile, he conceded knowing just how unique of a name his little brother had, "I just wanted to make sure you were talking about the right one. He happens to be our little brother and I haven't gotten to see him in a while. Perhaps we could all have dinner at the home Princess Hisui has lent Kaleb and I for our stay in the capital tonight."

"Huh, I should have guessed the three of you were somehow related. It's written all over the annoyingly good-looking faces of all three of you," pausing a moment before meeting his expectant gaze, "I'm sure a great big family reunion would be perfect. If both Bix and Sparky are here, Freed and Ever are bound to be here somewhere too. Is that okay if they come?"

"Of course. The more the merrier after all," closing the distance to take the Princess' free hand and pressing a chaste kiss the back of her it and then doing the same with Lucy's, the oldest Pradesh child spoke easily, "Then I'll see to putting that together. I'll leave you in Kaleb's care until you're finished catching up, Lucy."

As the blonde tilted her head to watch the Ambassador leave, her voice dropped as she elbowed the green-haired woman, "How do I become an ambassador, Hisui? I could totally handle having meeting after boring meeting if it meant I'd get to watch that man walk in and out of rooms. He really fills out that suit of his quite well."

The Princess' eyes bugged out for a moment before her voice burst from her body in a very unladylike manner that had her staff looking aghast, Kaleb staring at her in a mix of shock and awe and Lucy laughing so hard she almost fell off the couch, "You're a genius, Lulu! I didn't even think to look through the mages of Fiore to fill the position. You would be perfect too; you've got all the proper training and education required, you've already been around the world to have the correct disposition, I know you'll always put the needs of my people first and you have the kind of personality to be open and willing to listen and wait but the capability to make hard decisions that most would shy away from. Lucy, please, it would be a dream if you would consider it."

When her words had finally set in the Celestial beauty's mind, she stared openly at her grinning royal friend. She couldn't possibly be serious, could she? Maybe before she had her walkabout she would have been perfect for the job but now? Now she wasn't the type to mingle with foreign powers. Not that she couldn't handle them, quite the opposite in fact. Lucy really didn't think the government officials would take kindly to being handled by a tattooed, pierced, brash female mage with a shaved head and enough metal on her body to have her sink to the bottom of pool faster than an iron anchor. But Hisui was looking at her like she hung the stars herself and she knew her fellow Celestial Mage had trouble trusting people. That and the fact that the soon-to-be Queen of her home country is asking her to fill the position of the very first Fioran Ambassador and it would be incredibly disrespectful to not at the very least consider it. Really, she would still get to travel like she wanted, she would have the freedom to put stuffy assholes in their place and she would more than likely get to see Farron fill out his suits more often than once every twenty years. So with a heavy exhale, she answered, "I would be honored to become an Ambassador for you, Princess, but I can't help but think that I might be...off-putting to some of the other delegates. Even if I wanted to take out my jewelry, I can't and I won't. Not to mention the fact that I am covered in tattoos that can't be covered easily and I won't cover Aquarius' constellation so my hair stays the way it is. An ambassador is supposed to be your best foot forward, the dove to carry the olive branch, the big stick when you need it and I don't want your reputation to be tarnished because of my outward appearance. Although, having two Celestial Mages whose words are binding would certainly make us a trustworthy pair," her voice had trailed off by the end as she readjusted the uncomfortable sogginess of her armored top.

Surprisingly, Kaleb was the one to speak, "I'm sorry but that really shouldn't be a factor, Lucy. I've accompanied both my father and Farron to some pretty shady places for their jobs and you are far from the most 'off-putting' people I've seen holding positions of power. I don't know if you knew but I'm a Mindbender Mage, I can easily show you some of the hideous people I've seen," his words were flat but the smile that spread to his pale purple eyes had her eyeing the mage with a mirthful glint.

"Absolutely, Lulu. It may seem like a rash decision from my sudden asking, but maybe this is why it's been so hard for me to pick one. Let me at least explain what would be expected of you and what the job would entail and then I'll give you the rest of the week to give me your answer. If you say you don't want it, you can at least help me pick someone else."

After a few moments of consideration, the buxom blonde gave a quick nod and motioned for her friend to continue. Two hours had passed between Hisui's regaling of the job itself, Lucy's interruptions and when her stomach let out a growl so loud, Hisui herself blushed, she gave the green-haired woman a hug and let her know she would more than likely return tomorrow with any questions she still had.

 

When both she and her very attractive escort for the evening had made it back to the streets of Crocus, earning a slew of dreamy sighs in their wake, Lucy suddenly let out a huff and grabbed Kaleb's arm and pulled him through her gate before they appeared in her room at the Honey Bone. 

The moment her toes hit the wooden floor, she was unlacing the leather corset, her voice light, "I'm sorry about dragging you through my gate but I've got some serious wet leather problems that are going to lead to chafing if I don't get out of my armor. Take a seat anywhere, I shouldn't be too long and then we can go see if one of the Thunder God Tribe is still here," before turning and heading into the bathroom, her top dropping away from her body just before the door shut to give the Mindbender Mage a quick flash of the constellations covering her back.

This Lucy didn't seem to have any of the innocence of the little blonde that would kick his younger brother without hesitation for being a pervert. Same fire but definitely not the innocence. He was very looking forward to seeing the Lightning Dragon and his little brother's reactions when she reintroduced herself.

Lost in his own thoughts of all he would need to ask his older brother about the possibility of having her join the White Sea, he hadn't heard her come out of the bathroom until her soft, lovely singing stopped and she called from the door, "You ready to go, Guildmaster?" He should have known by the way she wore her light leather armor that she would look stunning in street clothes. She was wearing a long, high-waisted white skirt that just kissed the ground as she walked towards him with a deep blue halter top that showed off her toned shoulders and arms and made her slight tan seem darker with her wild, white-golden curls swept to the side as she held her arm out as if to offer it to him.

His smooth, velvety voice ran over her skin leaving a physical trail of goosebumps in its wake as he wrapped her arm around his own bulging arm, "Usually only members of my guild and people trying to get on my good side call me Guildmaster, fatina."

She sent him a flirty smile, her voice light and lilting, "Oh, I'm definitely trying to get on your good   
side. Let's go see about catching some ex-Fairies first though."

He let out another of his rumbling laughs that had Lucy thinking of all the other delicious sounds she could pull from him as they stepped out across the hall to knock on the door Bickslow had come out that morning. The older Pradesh had chosen that moment to focus on the little Celestial Mage's mind and he almost cursed out loud at the explicit images running through it with himself as the staring male role just as Laxus opened the door and stared between them, his deep voice laced with confusion, "What are you doing here and how do you know her, Kaleb?"

She could hear Bickslow's easy drawl from behind, "Kaleb? Like my Kaleb, Kaleb?" When his towering frame came behind Laxus and spotted his platinum blonde brother, he all but shoved the Lightning Slayer to the side to wrap him in an embrace, "What the hell are you doing here, big bro?," until his red red eyes landed on Lucy's smiling face and he pulled back but kept his arm slung over Kaleb's shoulder, his voice dipping lower, "Hey, neighbor. Couldn't wait until tomorrow to see me again?"

The Mindbender's lips split into a curling grin as he pulled away from his brother to put his hand on the small of Lucy's back, his voice playful, "Laxus, Bickslow, I'd like to reintroduce you to Lucy Heartfilia, former mage of Fairy Tail." Watching the two men flounder as they stared openly at the woman at his side had made the whole trip to Fiore worth it in his opinion and listening in on their train wreck of thoughts had made it ten times better.

"Cosplayer?" "Blondie?!"

Her sweet laughter danced between them before she wrapped her arms around the two broad mages, her voice muffled between their two bodies, "Hey, guys. It's good to see you. I heard you were all at Blue Pegasus awhile ago and I was glad to hear that you all stayed together at least."

Bickslow, being the one more inclined to affection and having had more interaction with Lucy, quickly broke from his stupor to wrap his arm around her, his voice full of awe and genuine shock, "It's good to see you too, although you could have told me who you were this morning. We could have had lunch while you tell me just when the hell you came to look like a walking wet dream."

Rolling his lavender eyes, Kaleb murmured out under his breath, "Nice, Bix. Real nice."

She gave the Seith Mage a cheeky wink before pulling back, her voice bright, "Funny you should mention it, Farron invited us all to dinner. I would very happily tell you of my journey to the status of walking wet dream over food. I happen to be starving."

"Are you sure you're my Blondie? You don't seem like Princess Pink and I'm trying to see it. I really am but my Blondie I knew would have kicked Bix halfway to Seven for that comment," his voice heavy with disbelief as he turned to pull on his boots.

Her smile turned playful as she stepped into the room and leaned against the wall, "Okay, we are going to circle back to your use of the possessive 'my' before my horribly ironic nickname but ask me anything you think only 'your' Blondie would know. Unless it's got anything to do with Erza and Jellal. I was sworn to secrecy and I refuse to answer any inquiries about the totally non-couple."

"I don't want you to answer any questions, just bring out the ginger-headed cat and I'll know it's you."

With a roll of her eyes, Loke appeared in the center of their room before kneeling before Lucy and taking her hand, pressing kisses over his stars settled neatly on her fingers, "Princess, calling me out again so soon. A spirit might get the wrong impression."

She let out a chuckle before speaking sarcastically, "Leo, you remember Laxus and Bickslow."  
Pushing up to stand beside his mage, a sly grin split his lips, "If it isn't my favorite socially impaired dragon and the owner of the ass Lucy and I kicked as our first real show of flawless partnership. How do you like my Princess now?"

"Play nice, you antagonistic cat," she scolded halfheartedly before looking at the Lightning Mage's deadpan expression, "Well? Do you believe me now?"

Running his hand down his face, he mumbled under his breath, "I almost hit on you, Blondie."

"Tch, as if that's a bad thing you idiot," was all she huffed out before holding her right hand out as if to inspect her rings, her voice airy and mischievous, "Now let's backpedal back a little to your show of possessive dragon greediness."

The rest of the room was equally as curious to hear what the Dragon Slayer's reasoning behind his words were before an honest to gods blush spread across his cheeks and he grumbled under his breath while he shoved his way through the doorway, "A year...over a fucking year I wait..."

Having already put his boots and visor on, Bickslow ducked his head towards the Celestial Mage as his hand fell to the small of her back, "We were worried about you, Cosplayer. When we found out you had disappeared and no one knew where you went, well, it hit us all pretty hard. It really meant Fairy Tail was over and Bossman took it badly. It's really good to see you."

Granting the blunette a genuine smile, her voice went soft as they made their way out of the Honey Bone to follow Kaleb to their temporary home, "I'm sorry for that; for not telling anyone, but I had to leave. I couldn't just...wait for someone to come back."

Giving her his own lopsided smile, his bright drawl back, "Nothing to be sorry for." They had walked a few minutes in silence before he lifted his hands to the back of his head and spoke again, "By the way, I really like those little golden rays of sunshine through your nipples."

When she blinked up at him with her pale gold eyes owlishly wide, he let out an easy laugh before asking Kaleb what he and Farron were doing in Crocus to leave her to her jumbled thoughts.

By the time the four of them had made it to the modern home of the older Pradesh brothers, Laxus explained that Evergreen had gone to visit Elfman and the other Strauss siblings and Freed had taken a job for a historian to help organize his research so that left the blonde slayer and the Seith Mage to wrangle Rune Knights by themselves. When they had all been seated and Farron had popped out of the kitchen wearing the most adorable floral apron she had ever seen to let them know that dinner was almost ready, Lucy actually squealed before immediately jumping up to offer to help the blue-eyed Sound Mage.

The moment her bouncy frame had disappeared through the kitchen as she cooed at oldest Pradesh, Laxus set his steely gaze on Kaleb, his deep voice even, "So why'd Blondie show up at our door tucked into your side, Kaleb?"

Deciding to ruffle a few feathers before dinner, the platinum blonde put his arm over the back of the chair the Celestial Mage had just left before his velvety voice drawled, "What do you mean, Laxus?"

"I mean, why was it that you were the one to introduce her to us like Bix and I were the third party?"

A knowing smile spread across his lips as he looked to the Lightning Slayer, "I should hope it would have been obvious. A lot of things can change in a year and it's a small world. You know the Sea has a knack for catching the attention of Celestial Mages and she's a...very special case." Technically, nothing he was saying was a lie. The White Sea did come up on three separate Celestial Mage's radars in some way or another and Lucy is a very unique individual with a special sort of magic that he was very curious to hear about.

"Quit dancing around the question, Kaleb."

Kaleb quickly gave him another curling smile before calling for Lucy. Knowing the woman had no problems with showing affection towards those she liked, he was hoping that that would play into his favor. 

When she immediately came to stand behind his chair, her hands on either side of her shoulders, the Mindbender leaned his head back into the valley of her chest, his voice low, "Laxus wanted to hear the story of how we met, fatina."

Her airy laughter sounded before her sweet voice spoke, "Well, technically we met through the bars of a holding cell but the first time we saw each other, I was playing with Andromeda in the water of the fountain and honestly, I had heard him on the other side of the fountain but I thought the wave I created would hit Andy and not everyone within a hundred feet of the fountain and I doused him. I'd been distracted and Cetus' Water Magic is still a little hard for me to control but I still managed to get an eyeful before I was carried away for disturbing the peace," pausing to look down into his lavender eyes, carelessly brushing an errant hair from his forehead before it could tangle in the metal of the jewelry across it, "I don't think I ever told you that you would definitely win first place in a wet t-shirt contest, Guildmaster," before meeting Laxus' eyes again, "and I guess you could say we've been together ever since." Her laughter sounded at her little private joke before Farron had called her back into the kitchen to help carry everything to the table.

Bless this woman. Bless her and everything she does. Kaleb took a sip of the authentic mead from Pergrande the tattooed beauty had brought out from the Spirit World feeling very satisfied with himself at the looks of disbelief on both the hulking dragon and his little brother's face.

Laxus knew very little about what had happened in the large amount of time that Lucy was without Fairy Tail but he did know the Blondie he knew wasn't one to let a man use her huge chest as a casual pillow and she definitely wasn't so fucking flirtatious. Even if she and Kaleb were together, the thing that really got to him was the blonde beauty calling him Guildmaster. Only members and suck-ups call the Mindbender Guildmaster and since Lucy wasn't a suck-up, that meant she was a member of the White Sea. A member of the White Sea who was with him since the day they met who gave affectionate touches and laughed freely with the mage. He honestly didn't know what to make of it.

When Farron, Lucy and Virgo came back into the room, all three with their hands full with different plates of traditional Boscan cuisine, the Sound Mage's silky voice sounded almost bored as he started to set the plates down, "What Kaleb has very strategically left out, was that this all occurred earlier today."

Bickslow immediately picked up one of the fresh rolls Virgo had placed next to him before she returned to the Spirit World and chucked it at his older brother's face, his own voice heavy with laughter that matched Kaleb's, "You fucking prick, I was half-convinced you and Cosplayer were on your way to being Promised."

The lavender eyed Pradesh easily caught the still warm roll and took a bite out of the sweet dough with a shit-eating grin on his face.

Laxus had to ask before he could relax enough to laugh with the Pradesh brothers, "So Blondie isn't a member of the Sea?"

Wide golden eyes met his as she put a hand on his shoulder before she made her way back to her seat, her voice earnest, "What? No. I'm an Independent Mage...I don't have a guild."

"Why did you call him Guildmaster then?," genuinely curious as he watched her fill the spot beside the platinum blonde mage.

She answered easily, "Because I'm trying to earn some extra brownie points with the youngest Wizard Saint in Ishgar."

Bickslow drawled from across the table from the little beauty as he filled his plate with the dishes of his home country, "Keep stroking his ego and you'll be set, Cosplayer. My big bro here is a Class-A preener."

Her voice was light as she looked between the brothers, "I'll keep that in mind, Bix."

Farron had asked Lucy how her time with the Princess went which lead to the Celestial Mage spilling about her once in a lifetime offer which heralded a variety of reactions from the men present before they had all finished eating and had moved to the living room with a cubic modern style low backed sectional that overlooked the gardens through thick panels of glass. Farron had taken up the spot in the corner closest to the dining room, Laxus had taken the corner seat next to him while Kaleb took up most of the matching loveseat across from the oldest Pradesh. Lucy and Bickslow were currently playing rock, paper, scissors to see who would get the chaise lounge. After they had thrown the same exact thing twelve times in a row, Bickslow smoothly suggested the share which the Celestial Mage was more than happy to accept.

When the two had finally settled, Lucy letting the towering blunette take the side with the arm as she squeezed beside him, her brows furrowed and her voice grew concerned, "Bickslow? Where are your babies?"

The Seith Mage looked down at worried blonde taken by surprised by her innocent question. Not many people asked about his souls and the fact that it was Lucy, who had no other reason to ask about them aside from genuinely wanting to know, kind of hit him off guard. He wasn't surprised that she was the one in particular asking though. That was something they had always held in common with their magics, a lot people treated his souls and her spirits as objects. It was what had eased them into something more akin to actual friendship rather than just guildmates. His voice was soft as he smiled down at her, "They stayed at the hotel room but if you wanted to come in and say goodnight to them before you went to sleep, I know they'd love it."

"Of course! I hope they still remember me...you didn't recognize me. What if they don't recognize me, Bixy?" The sadness and uncertainty were foreign and out of place coming from the woman that with or without Fairy Tail, held a light inside her that made you want to be better, be kinder, like she was.

Without really thinking about it, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders to reassure her, "Don't worry about that, Kitten. They don't see like you and I do, they resonate with the souls around them and yours is pretty unforgettable."

Tilting her head cutely, the soft tinkling of the stars dangling from the thick cuff through her cartilage hitting off each other pulling his focus from her face to the shell of her right ear before moving down her neck as she spoke softly, reverence coloring her words, "That's amazing actually. What makes my soul so unforgettable?"

Pulling his focus back to her earnest, open face, he let out a few breathy chuckles before leaning back on the lounge, "Like everything else about you, it's pure gold. Most Celestial Mages have gold at their core because of their magic but their soul as a whole is still theirs, same as everyone else. The nature of your magic forces at least some small part of your soul to be pure enough to call on the heavens but your whole soul is golden which means even if you weren't a Celestial Magic user, you was have the same pure, golden color. They are extremely rare and...usually have a...mate out there. Which is why they constantly reach out to the souls around them. Yours is one of the most fun to watch because it's like a little golden octopus with little tentacles and suckers except instead of latching on, it soothes and heals. I think that's why you're so resilient honestly."

Thankfully, Lucy was only half paying attention to Bickslow's words as Loke suddenly decided that right then was the perfect time to discuss the next comet shower scheduled to cross over Fiore while they were here so she missed the whole middle of his explanation. She felt a little badly about it, but she didn't him to have to repeat himself so she gave him a brilliant smile and turned her attention to Farron, her voice its usual bright lilt, "So Farron, Hisui said that if I accept this Ambassador position, I would be assigned to you to learn the ropes like a shadow. Where you go, I will follow type stuff, very devoted and I wanted to make sure that was okay with you."

The mahogany-haired mage leaned forward on his knees, the fabric of his silver-blue dress shirt fit around his broad but lithe body perfectly and before dinner, he had undone the top few buttons so Lucy may or may not be having trouble focusing on his face instead of the ink of his chest that looked like a bird of some sort. Unfortunately, she couldn't get a clear view but when his silky voice started speaking, she had to close her eyes to take a breath. Gods damn it, what is with this group of men and their sexy voices. She had always had a this odd correlation with sexual attraction a persons voice. It was why she and Natsu wouldn't ever be anything more than friends despite Mira's constant scheming. Well, except for that one really drunk night but she was pretty sure it just confirmed that Lucy wasn't attracted to the Fire Dragon and he wasn't attracted to girls at all. It was an eye opening experience all around. No, she liked her men manly. Deep voices, rough hands, tall frames. She liked a man who could handle her in the sack and most of the time, she ended up taking control. She even had a few guys complain about her being too rough with them before which was a total turn off and ended with her leaving unsatisfied and wondering if there was actually something the matter with her. Where was she going with this? Oh right, the smooth as silk ambassador was talking. For the love of stars, focus.

Kaleb was having trouble keeping his face straight as he tuned into the little blondes thoughts, his smile being hidden by his glass as he took another sip of the sweet alcohol.

"It was part of the reason why Kaleb and I had to come to Fiore actually. We were fully intending on bringing the new Ambassador back with us since they would be working so closely with myself and our father. It would only make sense to have them train with Boscans if they are to be the direct liaison between Bosco and Fiore. You would like our mother country, Lucy."

Flashes of her last glorious stay in Bosco ran through her mind like a slideshow of high quality porn. The men, the women, the tongues and touches, it was by far one of her favorite things about Bosco. 

Suddenly the Mindbender was hacking and coughing, trying to catch his breath. In a quick motion, Lucy was crouched beside the white blond mage, her right hand rubbing soothing circles in his back while her left took the glass of mead from his hands, her voice soothing and calm but laced with worry, "Oh my gods, Kaleb, are you okay? Do you need some water?"

He gave the small woman an 'okay' hand gesture before taking another deep drink of his booze, his voice raspy as he looked to his brother, "She's already been and she loves it, trust me. She's going to be a great ambassador."

As if she just remembered the mage she was trying to comfort was in fact a Mindbender Mage who could more than likely read minds, duh, Lucy, and she was just recalling pretty much every sexual encounter she had in Bosco, which happened to be a lot, had her face heating as made her way back to Bickslow's side hurriedly.

Putting two and two together, Farron raised a brow at his younger brothers casual reading of the gorgeous woman's thoughts before clearing his throat and turning his baby blue eyes to the grumbling Celestial Mage with her arms crossed over her chest, "Even better. That has been one of our troubles trying to find the right person to take the job. Too many Fiorans are extremely closed minded about our way of enjoying the pleasures of sex openly. They have a tendency to be quite prudish and it makes for a bad start to the relationship between our countries. Active appreciation of our culture is a much better way to bridge the two than just having the mind open enough to at least understand it."

Lucy turned to Kaleb, her voice matter-of-fact, "See that? That is how a diplomat speaks. That is how I knew you were the Guildmaster and not the Ambassador."

Having gotten the liquid from his lungs, his voice was back to its usual deep velvety tone, "I can be diplomatic if I want to be, Goldilocks."

She snorted, "Intrusive more like and you are also blonde. Why is it that the only people who give me pet names according to my hair color freaking share that trait with me?"

Laxus' baritone sounded from next to her, "How do you feel about becoming an Ambassador to Bosco and the first ever for Fiore, Blondie?"

Rolling her eyes before spreading her fingers out in her lap to look over her precious stars gifted to her by her loyal, loving spirit family, she took a minute to set her thoughts in order before her voice came through a little quieter than usual but not lacking her brightness, "Honestly? I would love it. I would get to travel and try to make the world a less shitty place to live in. I would get to put the years of lessons I wasted my childhood on to good use and it wouldn't have been for nothing. My only real hang up is that I'm not changing the way I look; I'm not covering my tattoos, I'm not taking out my piercings, I'm not cutting the dreadlocks from my hair and I'm not going let anyone walk over me. I have no problems with the way I am, but you said it yourself, most of Fiore isn't like me. How good am I going to be at representing a people I'm nothing like?"

The Sound Mage moved from his place on the end of the couch to fill the spot next to the uncertain blonde, taking her hand in his as he spoke earnestly, "We are supposed to be the change we wish to see in the world. We are supposed to be the example for others to follow and you are exactly the positive, progressive type of change Fiore needs. You would have to walk the careful line of being open-minded enough to listen to all the information and be flexible enough to incite change when need be and being an unmovable, unrelenting force on the things that are non-negotiable and necessary. It's an incredibly rewarding line of work that not everyone is cut out for but after the few hours I've had the pleasure of spending with you, I think you would make an exceptional ambassador."

Lucy's lips split into a brilliant smile before Bickslow's voice was full of mock-emotion, "Damn, Fare, that was beautiful. I think you just convinced me to become an ambassador."

"Gods help us all if you ever become a diplomat of any rank...You'd be just as bad as Van," Kaleb's voice had called lazily from the smaller couch.

Holding his hand to his chest in offense, his voice teasing, "I resent that. I resent you for saying that about me, bro. I'm not nearly as bad as Vander."

The Lightning Slayer gave an iffy hand motion before his deep baritone came through mirthful, "Eeehh, it's a pretty close race."

Blinking at the hulking blonde, "Traitor."

Patting his thigh, Lucy looked up to the poor Seith Mage, her voice light and airy, "Awweh, Bixy. I believe you. Although if there is a being out there worse than you are, I think I'd like to meet them."

Rich laughter sounded from her left side from the mahogany-haired Sound Mage, "He happens to be our youngest brother and I'd be careful what you wish for. Vander has a habit of chewing people up and spitting them out with a casual attitude and a smile on his face."

"Sounds like my kind of guy," her words breaking through her infectious laughter as she clutched Farron's hand to her chest as tears started to form in her eyes.

When her breathing had finally gone back to normal, she gave his hand a light squeeze and a radiant smile that spread to her shining, gold eyes, earnest appreciation in her words, "Thank you, Farron, really. Knowing you'll be there with me the whole way makes this a lot less daunting." Her smile was matched by his own stunning smile that had her heart skipping beats.

It would have been one of those incredibly romantic and meaningful moments if Bickslow hadn't lifted   
her up on his shoulder and shouted, "Cosplayer's gonna change the world and that calls for shots!"

 

"Wait, wait, wait, you're tellin' me that there are TWO MORE of you? and then TWO MORE females? Dear gods, I bet that would be nice. Just to line you all up and look at you." Her movements were dreamy and exaggerated even with Bickslow's hair wrapped around her fingers. The little blonde couldn't remember the last time she had been this drunk. Probably because she had too much to drink the last time she drank this much and it made her memory just a touch fuzzy. She of course wasn't the only incredibly inebriated one as the blunette Seith Mage gave her a salacious grin from over his shoulder. It was actually a pretty solid alcohol induced uninhibited house all around as Laxus shed his coat and rolled the sleeves of his button up to his elbows much like both Kaleb and Farron had done as well.

The Mindbender's deep voice pulled her from her braiding the sides of Bickslows hair gleefully atop her perch behind him on the back of the couch, "Oh, Dad's going to love you."

She gave him a blinding smile before reaching through her gate and pulling out two little gold clasps to close over the ends of the Seith Mage's new tight braids on either side of his face above his ears to give him the appearance of just having the top mohawk before running her fingers through the loose blue strands to make them stand on end, her voice easy as she turned her smile to the blunette himself, "Now you look like you can kick some serious ass like I do, Bixy-babe."

Turning to give the her a sly grin, his voice dipped playfully, "I couldn't kick ass before, Cosplayer?"

Narrowing her eyes as she called on her Earthen King Stardress to replace her long skirt and blue cropped tank with a deep emerald green backless waistcoat, a pair of dark brown pants, knee-high dark leather boots, matching brown leather gloves and a dark red coat with wide cuffs and a wide collar with gold accents. Her unruly, wild hair suddenly silky smooth and slicked back in pin straight strands down her back with a dainty gold diadem that looked like the tangles of branches holding smaller diamonds and rubies as a large teardrop shaped blood red ruby hung down to settle between her brows. She quickly put her hand on the top of his head to push him down as she leapfrogged over him to stand in the center of the living room, her voice filled with mirth as she modeled her Stardress, "What do you think about this one? Not as revealing as you'd like I bet..."

Bickslow stood to give her an appraising once over, his voice deep in character as he raised the end of his nose and pulled at random pieces of her outfit, "I just don't know about this color scheme on you, darling. I see you as more of a pastel type of woman. Blue to be specific."

She narrowed her eyes before she called on Cygnus to lend her power to equip the Stardress of the Swan constellation. As the golden light faded, she was wearing the most intricate and delicately made ballet dress, the sheer layers of her skirt falling around her as the top hugged her ample curves, her chest spilled from the white beaded bodice. Her voice was as airy and light as she started cycling through the graceful movements of her childhood ballet lessons, "How about one of those Midish ballet princesses?" She shouldn't have been surprised when Bickslow lifted her mid-turn to send the light fabric of her skirt molding around his torso as she all but melted in a fit of giggles at his obvious training in the arts. When he finally sat her down, she managed to do one last turn before dropping in a front split and arching her back in a dramatic show.

"Any other dances you're familiar with?" Bickslow teased as he ambled back over to his spot on the chaise with a splitting smile on his face.

She leaned on her open palm to her side for a minute before slowly slumping down enough that she just gave in and sprawled across the floor, her voice a sweet sing-song as she mused, "I know lots of dances, Bixy baby. Though I should have pegged you as a ballet man, you've got the legs for it."

He lifted one of his legs with his toes pointed and his arms on either side with his fingers wiggling, his head thrown back as he spoke with a snobbish accent, "Thank you, thank you, I know I'm a god."

She was clutching her stomach, wiping absent tears from the corner of her eyes when she saw a tanned hand descend as an offering before Kaleb's smooth as velvet voice sounded from above her, "Do you know how to waltz, fatina?"

She smiled up at the beautiful platinum blonde angel of a man with a slow kind of curling smile that had the Mindbender smirking at his fellow blonde, her voice lilting and drawled like a southern belle, "Why, Guildmaster, I didn't know you could dance! This is an utter shock to me. You're like a family of Disney princesses."

He let out a few chuckles before squatting down beside her, his elbows leaned on his knees as he balanced on the balls of his feet, "Does this mean you don't know how to waltz?"

She gave a roll of her eyes before dropping her Stardress and enjoying the stability of the floor for a moment longer. The long mess of braided, beaded and varying shades of blonde hair that fanned around her head fell down her back as she lifted her torso to meet his pale grey gaze as best she could with their height difference, her voice haughty as her arms crossed over her chest, "I know how to waltz. Every lady knows how to waltz."

He stood and offered his hand again with an 'I dare you' look on his face . The feisty woman gave him a winning, confident smile that made her magic give just the faintest of a pulse making the map of silvery gold stars across her golden skin twinkle and took his hand.

Despite his very powerful magical abilities, Lucy kept surprising him; surprising him with the way she doesn't have any problems letting her emotions, her honest thoughts, out for the world to see; surprising him with the immense power she had at her fingertips that had an uncanny way of reflecting the whirlwind of a woman she was; surprising him with the way she kept surprising him.

"What no wardrobe change for me?" His face was pulled into a devilish smirk, his eyes reflecting the attraction he held for the unpredictable woman as she gave a shrug and tried to think of her best Stardress for waltzing. She suddenly equipped the short sleeved light grey lolita style dress with the massive keyhole over her cleavage and a full skirt that only fell low enough to cover her core, her hair pulled into two low curly ponytails with a perky matching bow on top of her head. Andromeda's Stardress always made her feel like a schoolgirl with its thigh high white socks and exaggerated black mary jane pumps but the light chain mail of the bell sleeves that fell below the hem of her dress always made her feel badass. She looked up at him from beneath her lashes with an innocent look as mischief flashed in her eyes. His voice was light and easy as he snapped her into position in a show that would have weakened her knees if she was willing to give him the satisfaction, which she wasn't, his hand taking hers as the other sat just below her shoulder, "I'll take the sexy schoolgirl bit. Let's see how graceful the criminal can be, shall we?"

The way his brow quirked had her stomach turning before relaxing into his arms and letting him lead flawlessly. She was too distracted by the way his hair trailed behind him so dutifully to do anything but follow suit as he pulled her in for a turn and dip, which she was seemingly completely ignorant of the still spinning world around her as she trailed her fingers over his forehead to move the more wild strands of almost white hair back into place, her voice faraway as she closed her eyes let her neck crane back, "You lead with impeccable style, Guildmaster." The chorus of laughter that surrounded her reminded her of where she was for a split second before Kaleb pulled her up so her chest was flush with his and all normal thought processes were lost. "You're also very well built for a man wearing enough jewelry to rival even myself."

This pulled genuine, rumbling laughter from the Mindbender Mage as he released her to take her hand and bow, his voice still rumbling with chuckles, "Thank you for the dance, fatina."

"Gods, you're all a bunch of schmoozes. Except Farron, Farron is a sweetheart. I bet his dance is the foxtrot or that really hard waltz that starts with a 'v' from Pergrande," she rolled her eyes before dropping her poofy, corseted lolita dress to smooth the crisp white fabric of her skirt and taking the spot between Laxus and Farron. Her eyes went immediately searching the oldest Pradesh's baby blues with a bright smile, her voice expectant, "Well? What impressive style of dance do you do, sweetheart?"

He was leaned back on the couch, his shirt unbuttoned further than any of his brothers to show off more of his chest and his tattoos, his voice was devilishly smooth like silk over the sensitive skin of her throat, "The tango."

Her jaw dropped as she leaned back into Laxus' side and whispered up at the Lightning Slayer, "Would you believe he was a tangoer? A tango-ist?" Her brows furrowed together in irritation before continuing quietly to herself, "Tangette? Hmm...I'll take tangette." Her thoughts were a haze of setting the perfect scene she would want the oldest Pradesh to utilize his sensual dance knowledge on her. Smokey club in an open cabana along the water, his shirt would unbuttoned just like now, no maybe he would be shirtless. Lost it in an unfortunate kitchen fire accident.

The blue steel of his danced with mirth as he looked down and watched her hand trace over the lines of her Aquarius tattoo, his voice was absently curious as he watched her rub the shaved hair back and forth, "Fare can do a whole handful of impressive things, Blondie. What are you doing?"

Her hand halted as a blush spread across her face, her voice sheepish like her smile in an unholy amount of innocent sexuality that had the dragon himself heating up, "I just shaved the side the other day and the stubble feels really cool. Go ahead, feel it. I won't bite, Sparkles," her brows wiggled up at the man teasingly, "not unless you want me to."

He blinked down at the gorgeous blonde for a few moments before she urged him again and took his hand in her much smaller hands and lead it to the shaved side of her head. The massive blonde frankly already knew what running your hands over short hair like that felt like and honestly didn't have an opinion one way or another on the subject but he's had far too much alcohol to use his go to, self made cock block when it came to the hot little Celestial Mage formerly of Fairy Tail that he was going to be guildmaster someday and Lucy was far too important to the guild to get involved with her because of his own way of inevitably fucking things up when it came to relationships or complete lack thereof. That wouldn't work for him anymore though; she was an independent mage that hadn't been seen in Fiore for a year and he was nothing but a distant at best former guildmate. As if the words 'FAIR GAME' suddenly ran across her forehead while she turned and looked at him expectantly, he gave her one of his cockiest grins and ran his hand over the buzzed section of her head before smoothly cradling the back of her neck, his voice naturally deep and husky, "And if I do want you to?"

The way she switched from blushing innocent to devilish imp should have scared the Dragon Slayer as her lips morphed into a calculating grin, her eyes flashed with pure sexual prowess before her voice, playful and dark, stirred his member to life, "So you like some rough foreplay do you, big boy?"

Bickslow's usually easy voice was calling from where he was laying on the chaise completely backwards and upside down, his long legs draped over the back and the top tufts of his deep blue hair just shy of the carpeted floor, was almost a whine as Kaleb looked to his younger brother with a droll look, "Kaleb, you're my brother, my bro! You're supposed to have my back!"

He gave his lavender eyes a roll before readjusting the rings on his finger, his voice even to reflect his lifetime of handling not only his Seith Mage brother's ways but Vander's as well, "I am not going to get you into the party."

The easy exchange between the two brothers caught the attention of both Laxus and Farron and Lucy took the opportunity to get some fresh air from the gorgeous balcony overlooking the castle, letting the blue-eyed ambassador know she would be right back.

She relished in the way her stars seem to shimmer brightly just for her before sending her spirits a burst of love and appreciation which was quickly reciprocated tenfold as their magic sent a wave over her being. 

The lights of the streetlamps reflected off the water of the canals in a way that made her think of things she had long since buried under her need to get out. Get away. Thoughts of Magnolia and she longed to walk along the pristine walls that framed the unnatural zigzag of water through the streets.

She didn’t know what ultimately pushed her to throw her leg over the smooth metal railing and drop into the plush grass below. The way she gives into childlike whims. Her nostalgia. The unfamiliar way the passed 48 hours felt too familiar. She wasn’t really too concerned about it as she huffed and pulled a pair of her leather pants from the Spirit World before stripping out of her grass stained skirt and pulling on the supple leather and making her way through the garden to walk the canals of her memories. It was time she faced the feelings she was so quick to lock away.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Bickslow and Laxus had decided a good round of male wrestling was in order. At which point, Farron gracefully bowed out before heading up to sleep. He needed to start putting all their ducks in a row sooner rather than later. Both he and Kaleb had responsibilities back in Bosco after all. 

This left the two drunken powerhouses in the care of one maybe more than a little tipsy Mindbender mage whose thoughts had very quickly turned to the curvy blonde with a unique magic all her own.

The moment he heard his younger brother’s slightly slurred voice, his head snapped to the fabric clutched in his hands. “Hey lookie here! Cosplayer is running around in nothing but her panties! She should have invited me on her streak. I am an avid lover of nudity and debauchery. I’m almost a little hurt she didn’t think of me.” His hurt was play but the devilish gleam in his eye had Kaleb tuned into his thoughts faster than Laxus’ lightning could strike.

The too beautiful Pradesh’s voice grew deep as a warning to his young idiot brother. “Bickslow, don’t. I don’t need to worry about- and there he goes.” His sigh was tired as more and more of the Seith Mage’s deeply tanned skin became exposed under the bright natural light the night sky was providing them as his figure grew smaller and smaller.

“S’pose we should go get him.”

Laxus’ even voice came as a bit of a surprise due to the amount of liquor currently sloshing through the Dragon Slayer’s veins. Pale lavender eyes met steel in a deadpan before Kaleb gestured forward, “By all means, try and retrieve him. I’ve seen his bare ass far too many times in my life already.”

“You and me both, dude,” was all he said before turning to follow his best friend to make sure he didn’t get arrested. One Fairy in a jail cell was enough for today.

The Guildmaster was about to head back inside when he felt more than heard her. He knew she needed it. She needed to get everything out before she committed this life.

That didn’t mean she needed to do it alone.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx  
Her tears were silent as she closed her eyes and tilted her head back. The night breeze was chilly, sending goosebumps down the backs of her bare arms but she welcomed the numbing quality. She wanted so badly to be over this. To be over feeling like she wasn’t good enough for her partner and her team. She wanted to know why he would leave her the way he did. 

Her stars were everbright in the canvas of the sky but even they couldn’t tell her the answers she wanted to hear.

So she resigned to having to come to terms with maybe never knowing. As a writer, she hated leaving chapters open especially when she was about to start a whole other book with the way her life was turning. Changing for the better.

The Celestial beauty could sense Kaleb’s immense aura before she heard or saw him. Knowing he would hear her, her voice was stronger than she expected but small regardless. “To what do I owe the pleasure of a midnight chat with the Guildmaster himself.”

His frame quickly came to the light as he hauled himself onto the tiled roof of one of the tallest buildings in Crocus aside from the castle itself. The Pradesh was far from fearful of heights but the loose nature of the roof tiles certainly didn’t make him feel more comfortable. He gestured to the spot next to her on the peak, “Mind if I join you?”

They had amicable silence before she felt him on the edge of her conscious. It was nothing like the way Cobra’s magic felt when he tried to listen. This was gentle and probing. His magic felt almost like soothing water flowing around the outskirts of her being. What had her eyes snapping open was the way her own magic seemed to...respond to his ministrations. Did he know what was going on? 

Before she could ask the older mage, a flash caught her attention. A flash of a flash. How she loved the pun at the root of it all as she watched a buck naked Bickslow dodge and dart away from Laxus before the slayer got tired enough to send a few volts his way. Her flash of a flash was ended in a flash. Her humor wouldn’t allow that to go by without a sound.

To say her sudden rolling laughter was a bit of a surprise. His brow quirked quizzically at her sudden mood change.

Her words were choppy as she almost tumbled backward from her belly laugh, “Oh stars...that’s- that is just too...too funny.”

In the distance, Laxus bristled. Lucy’s magic was close and he could almost hear her ridiculously infectious laughter. He hefted the weight of his unconscious teammate over his shoulder and grumbled about being on Bixy-sitting duty.


	4. Summit Part 2- BAMF LucyKaleb

It was noon and though the sun was high, so was the humidity and Lucy was stifling in her usual leather armor. She, Farron and Hisui had been practically locked into the stuffy room with the every single member of the Magic Council and the King with his advisors were hashing out the details of her official job and how that would affect the other major parties of Fioran government.

At this point and time, Lucy didn't really care what the Magic Council thought and the King was a jovial man who adored her.

She cleared her throat before standing, feeling every pair of eyes on her like each was its own hot brand. Her voice even as she smiled through her own interruption, "Pardon me but I'm in desperate need of moving air and lunch. I think it best if we moved to the veranda for the rest of the afternoon."

Before any of the stuffy old men could even split their walrus mustaches, the Princess' bright voice filled the space, "Oh what a lovely idea, Lucy. I'll tell the staff that we will take lunch out there as well. Would you care to join me?"

Lucy gave her longtime friend and practically sister a little playful curtsy before looping their arms together. Her voice was bubbly and bright, pausing only to stop and give Farron's toned shoulder a friendly squeeze, "I would love to accompany you, darling. We will meet the rest of you under the warmth of the afternoon sun with lunch."

The pair wound their way through the maze of corridors to get to the kitchen where the children of the palace had gathered to try and coax some butter cookies from the baker.

While Hisui talked to the staff, Lucy took to inquiring about the baked goods schedule of the palace. Her brows were furrowed in interest as the ancient woman went off to list a militaristic schedule of cookies, cakes, pies, scones and everything else even she could think of while carefully lifting the large tray of fresh cookies behind her back.

When the chef turned her back to focus on the Princess once again, the Celestial beauty gave the giggling group of kids a wink before calling back to her friend that she would meet her on the veranda and sauntering out of the kitchen.

Kaleb had been trying to get a hold of his father when he saw her. Once again she was barefoot with the legs of her pants pushed up as far as the leather would allow and once again she seemed to be totally immersed in her own little world as nearly a dozen children ranging from toddlers to teens laughed and played around her. On her shoulders was a young boy with cropped bright red hair and a pair of very young twins had wrapped their little arms around her thigh as she lifted their little bodies with each step, sending another round of high-pitched joyous laughter through the yards just beyond the veranda.

"Okay little loves, let's get you back where you belong. I think I've stolen you away long enough." Her smile was wide as she effortlessly lifted the red-headed boy from her shoulders with one arm.

The chorus of complaints at her words pulled low chuckles from the Mindbender as he tucked his hands under his biceps to see how she does managing that many small humans at once.

"Don't give me that. You know I always rescue you when you need it most and the only reason I get away with mass kidnapping is because I always bring you back. You wouldn't want to ruin the fun and miss your surprise tomorrow, would you?"

"Surprise?"

She ruffled the young boy's long hair before kneeling down to be eye level with a nervous little raven-haired child. She softened her tone knowing this particular little boy was the new head of the Magic Councils boy, Lito. When Lucy first met him, he barely spoke and refused to play with any of the other kids but after two years, he was like a whole different little man. His magic coupled with rough nature of his father made him anxiety ridden and unsure of himself. As best they could describe, Lito had a type of magic they liked to call chameleon magic. He could adopt any of the traits or magics from the people around him for a short period of time and that made people uncomfortable to be near him. Add his father's less than shining reputation for being a proud mule made things especially difficult for him but she always made a point to see him when she could.

"Yes, little light, a surprise but only if you promise to work extra hard on your studies when we get back. Mistress Grentel will only let you come with me if you do."

The headwinds coming from the rapid up down motions coming from each of the children was alarming considering every single one of them was in agreeance. Even the children of his White Sea members have never all agreed on something so wholeheartedly, especially not something like working harder.

The blonde whirlwind herself had a child on her hip and was holding the Magic Councilman's child's hand as the herd of small bodies flocked and followed her back into the castle, voices chattering nonstop as they beamed up to the equally as beaming woman.

"Kaleb? Hello? Kaleb?"

His father's voice pulled him from his observation as he lifted the comm to see his father's face, knowing pale green eyes shining with something that to this day never fails to send a wave of shivers down any given Pradesh's spine. "Father, have you spoken to Farron yet today?"

The Pradesh patriarch noted his sons too hasty inquiry but made no comment as he answered easily, "I have. He's informed me that you two will be bringing back a girl finally. Your brother seems quite impressed with her." Arman Pradesh was trying to bait his mind reading son. Of course, after having raised all of the Pradesh brood, he knew ways around his children's natural defenses.

Kaleb gave a nod of his head in agreeance before giving his father what he wanted. "She is quite impressive. I've never met anyone like her, that's a fact."

That caught his attention. Raising a brow smoothly, Arman pressed further, "I find that hard to believe coming from two of the most world travelled beings I know."

"You'll meet her soon enough. I'm hoping before the end of the week but Fare seems to think that unlikely."

A warmth lit in his father's sagely eyes as he spoke, "It's been so long since I've had laughter in my home. It'll be so nice to have Farron and Lucy home every night for dinner."

The platinum-haired mage rolled his eyes. "You have family dinners every Sunday, Dad. Van and I have been to every single one."

The patriarch sulked as he shot back, "But you don't stay anymore."

"I have my own home to sleep in." It was an argument he often had with his father now that Xally has been gone with her studies at the university. Arman Pradesh's birds have flown the nest and he doesn't like it one bit.

The older Sound Mage countered, "You have a bedroom here as well."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "One that has my baby clothes tucked in the closet and a hole where Bixy put his head through the wall. Plus my place is closer to the Sea."

"The Sea isn't that far from your family home, Kaleb."

"And this discussion is tiring, Father. If you want to convince a son to come home, talk to Bixy."

As if just given a brilliant idea, the oldest Pradesh gave his son a winning smile before letting him go so he could make another phone call to a younger child of his.

Kaleb breathed out under his breath, "Dear gods, what have we started?"

A sharp, nasally voice all but screeched from the shade of the patio, "That Miss Heartfilia is unmarried, remains an independent mage with no ties or loyalties to anyone and just this morning was seen walking the gardens barefoot and on the fencing!"

His brother's familiar smooth voice offered the flea of a man complaining only now that Lucy had left the vicinity. The Mindbender recognized the tone his older brother was using, it was a strictly ambassador tone that showed just how uncaring he actually was only to those who knew him well. "Miss Heartfilia is a loyal Fioran and brilliant mage that Bosco would be more than happy to sponsor so we could strengthen the ties between our great countries through means of trade, diplomacy and an exchange of culture. I find that her sudden appearance is that akin to a miracle for Princess Hisui and by extension, the King himself. Or did you have a suitable replacement already in mind?"

The older man sputtered as Farron's sky blue eyes danced with mirth over his aromatic cup of tea.

Much to everyone's surprise, the star Celestial Mage returned from dropping the children off only to have returned with a young girl, maybe the age of two, with white blonde hair and piercing grey eyes fast asleep in her arms. The mystery child looked as if she could have been Lucy's with her heartshaped face and feminine features made round in her youth. As if this was a normal occurance, the bright young mage practically sang from where she had started dancing with her charge, "Let's get down to it men. It's much too beautiful a day to spend it arguing."

So they did. By the time they had agreed that she was actually in fact perfect for the position, Lucy had sat down and her could-be daughter had fallen asleep on her shoulder, her arms curled around the starry skin of her neck.

Kaleb had stayed for the rest of the meeting and both Celestial Mages present were thankful he did. The Magic Council was firm in demanding that if Lucy was to become ambassador, she would need to join a legal guild. It was non-negotiable for them. No one save Farron thought the Guildmaster himself from the most successful and prominent guild in Bosco would offer her a place there on the spot.

It made for a relatively painless and quick meeting and Lucy was content to watch the sun kiss the horizon as bodies filed out around her.

The electric warmth of Kaleb's magical presence pulled a sigh from her lips as he approached from behind. Just like before, his voice was like silk over her senses, "Fair fatina, you've found a sleeping beauty."

Smoothing the hair back out of the child's sleeping face, golden eyes landed on the slash-like red markings up her arms. Her voice was filled with the overflowing affection she held for the child, "Her name is Tsukiya. She's one of the maid's daughter but she's a Kitsune Mage and petrified of her magic. She must have grown her fangs in while I was away." It was an absent remark but there was sorrow behind it.

Clearing his throat, the Guildmaster offered a hand to help her up. "Does Tsukiya have to return home soon?"

A melodious catching laugh resonated through the yard and wrinkled the corners of her eyes. "Nope. She's mine for the week. Her mom, the maid I mentioned, used to work at the Konzern before I found her at Everlue's. She needed a job after...I uh, found her there and Hisui was in need of a head maid. Her father is a member of the guard for the castle and they haven't had any time together since the last time I visited when she was a baby. You're looking at her chief godfairy." She couldn't help the pride in her voice as she looked up into ever thoughtful lavender eyes and finally released his hand back to him to rub Tsukiya's back.

"Surely you aren't taking her back to your hotel?" He couldn't help the question as it fell from his lips.

Noting the worried tone of his voice, she gave his impressive arm a reassuring pat before casually stating, "Of course not. She's coming home with us."

"Us?" His worry for the little girl quickly morphed into worry for himself and his Sound Mage older brother currently sharing a home.

"Us, Guildmaster. I might have accidentally let slip that I was staying at the Honey Bone and Hisui wouldn't hear it. Insisted I stay with Farron since the house is plenty big enough. Don't worry, she doesn't speak much and she rarely cries. She's honestly a little angel."

As if on cue, one clawed hand extended from the tangle of blonde curls in a yawn that showed off the little sharpened canines from her magic. She eyed the strange man from where she had simply turned her head to rest her opposite cheek on Lucy's bare shoulder curiously. "Pretty."

Pouty pink lips split into a blinding smile first at the child oblivious to her and then to Kaleb, who seemed transfixed on it before turning his attention back to the toddler staring at him completely unabashed. "My name is Kaleb. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Her face remained unchanging as she repeated more firmly, "Pretty."

He had bound his hair back in a low ponytail and the rope of silvery-blond hair had loosened. Enough so that his face was being framed by the silk and he knew Tsukiya was talking about more than just his hair. "Not so pretty compared to you, kit."

The Celestial Mage watched as her godchild turned her face back towards her and away from Kaleb to whisper in her ear as they made their way out of the Castle grounds and into the gardens.

"Oh is that so? I think if you asked him nicely, he wouldn't mind."

Kaleb's blood ran cold. He obviously had an advantage when it came to children but this particular child in the arms of that particular woman made him nervous. No one had ever told him he was good with kids. No one told him he wasn't good with kids either but he's been around plenty of children and they usually avoid him. Whether that was due to his size, title or immense magical aura, he didn't know. So he waited to hear what the tiny Fox Mage would request of him.

Startling grey eyes met his evenly before extending her hands towards his head, "Uppy."

Lucy gently reminded her of her manners, "Please, Kiya."

With a small nod, the child tried again, "Uppy pease."

The former Fairy Tail mage had to rein in her giggles at the look of panic on his face. Deciding to throw him a bone, she bumped his leg with her hip. "She wants on your shoulders and I can guarantee you're about to lose your crown when she gets up there."

His attention was once again pulled down to the little girl with an alarmingly deadpanned face. "It's pretty high up, are you sure you can hold on?" The tone of his voice was teasing and light as he smiled at her.

Tsukiya gave a curt nod of her head before extending her arms once again, the marks of her magic stark against the pale cream color of her skin.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

When the trio made it to the front steps of their home away from home, Tsukiya had the circlet-type jewelry that rested across his forehead around her neck and her ears, more akin to those of a fennec fox, were proudly displayed through the curls of her hair. She was toddler-talking her lungs out, pausing every now and then to allow one of them to nod or make a comment before continuing.

Kaleb had wrapped his hands around her feet and told her to lean back which much to Lucy's surprise, she did without hesitation. Even letting out peals of giggles when she tried to tickle him through the layers of his dress clothes.

They hadn't even closed the door before a knock sounded from the other side accompanied by the sweetly smiling face of Tsukiya's mothers.

"Haru! I didn't know you'd be dropping Kiya's things off so soon or I'd have just taken it myself." The younger blonde moved to embrace the older woman with kind eyes and hair so faintly red, it almost looked pink.

Stepping into the house, Haru started piling up bags in the hall while running through the toddlers schedule. Before Lucy could get a word in, the older maid was backing out the door again and saying her goodbyes to her upside down daughter.

Her chocolate eyes sparkled with disbelief as she stood blinking at the front door.

"Lulu."

The small voice brought her back as she turned to see what she could do for her. "You getting hungry baby?"

The twitch of her ear was all the further confirmation she needed before pulling her tiny frame from Kaleb's honestly massive shoulders, her voice lilting as she settled Tsukiya on her hip, "What were you thinking for dinner because I was thinking we could make spaghetti."

Her grey eyes widened like saucers at the mention of the Minstrellan dish.

The pair was making their way towards the kitchen when the Fox Mage called to Kaleb, "Pretty, come." She gave pause before adding sweetly, "Pease." Her tone still left minimal room for argument from the hulking Mindbender.

To say Farron was speechless when he came home would be a fair statement. As he leaned on the frame of the archway between the dining room and kitchen, he took in the incredibly domestic scene unfolding before him. Lucy had changed out of her leather and into a pair of peach dhoti pants and a dove grey halter top, her hair in a half tangled mess at the back of her head as she sang along with music playing softly in the background. Kaleb was leaned against the counter right beside the Celestial Mage with a young Kitsune Mage in his arms, still dressed as he was in the castle, as they made what smelled like pasta of some sort. His brother was telling them both about the White Sea and they both seemed to be enraptured by his words.

Overall, the Sound Mage was feeling optimistic about the years to come.

"Oh, Fare! You should have said something," as if second-nature, the stunning blonde crossed the room and grabbed his hand to lead him to the breakfast nook to sit and be a part of the festivities, "We are having spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and you've come just in time." Her brows waggled at him conspicuously before turning back towards her charge and rubbing her hands together. "All right, kit-kat, I want you to meet Kaleb's big brother, Farron. He's a really good friend of mine and he's really good at making meatballs. Do you think he could join us?"

The young mage looked between the two men before her head tilted to side and her ears dropped slightly, "Pretty?"

He gave her a reassuring smile before putting her down to inspect his older brother for herself while he showered and changed out of his clothes into something more comfortable.

By the time he came back downstairs, Farron had rolled the sleeves of his button down to his elbows and was trying to teach Tsukiya how to roll meatballs but the small child just kept motioning for him to keep making them so she could put them on the pan.

He felt a dainty hand against the muscle of his back, its warmth seeping through the thin material of his shirt to settle in his chest even though the touch was casual and passing. "I think she's in love. You may be her pretty but he's her boo."

His brow raised in challenge as his arms fell away from his chest, the back of his hand brushing against the silky fabric covering her thigh. "How quickly I'm replaced."

Her hand trailed down the back of his arm as an impish smile spread across her lips. "You were no match for his baby blues and ability to make perfect spheres from ground meat."

His fingers caught hers before he started rubbing his thumb across the sensitive skin of her wrist making her pulse quicken and her magic ebb in a sensual way that had never happened before. Lucy wasn't going to complain about it but she also didn't know what in the blue devil she was supposed to do about it.

"Lulu! Come! Come!"

Without taking her eyes from Kaleb's, she answered a little out of breath, "I'll be right there, kit-kat."

The moment broke as she crossed back to the kitchen, her face lighting up as Tsukiya proudly showed off her and Farron's creations but Kaleb knew her thoughts. Her thoughts were centered on the inexplicable way their magics seemed to react. The same thing he was focused on.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

By day three with Tsukiya and Lucy, Kaleb was pretty sure he found the ultimate way to wear himself out and it had everything to do with the two newest blondes in his life. Here he was, Guildmaster of the White Sea, son of highly renowned Boscan ambassador and Wizard Saint in his own right, holding hands with a tiny kit and the female version of his youngest brother.

He had yet to determine if that was something that was going to be a problem or not.

Lucy had scooped Tsukiya up on a mission to the bathroom when an elderly woman spoke from his side, "Oh my, what a lovely family you have. You must be a very lucky man indeed to have such love in your life."

He blinked down at the aged woman before answering evenly, "I would be an incredibly lucky man to have a family so beautiful, but unfortunately they aren't mine."

She raised her brows as she nodded absently.

They shared a moment of silence before she pressed again. "What's stopping you?"

A brow rose in suspicion at the implication. "Stopping me?"

"Repetition is unbecoming for one so intelligent."

Taking a deep breath, he refrained from rolling his eyes. "Nothing is stopping me from doing anything."

Her eyes narrowed skeptically before settling back into indifference. "She's a firecracker, that one."

It was then he looked up to see Lucy now had piled her hair on top of her head and Tsukiya's wildy giggling body attached to her hip. The elder of the blondes looked significantly less amused than the younger.

"If you'll excuse me, ma'am."

She gave a respectful bow of her head before disappearing into the crowd to leave him to his women.

When the pair finally walked close enough to talk without shouting, Kaleb's velvety voice washed over her prickled nerves. "Something wrong, fatina?"

She threw one more haughty glare over her shoulder before motioning the towering man to duck down so she could repeat it quietly. He gladly obliged the irritated beauty. "Loke decided to pay me a visit which is no big deal but a couple of hags were lurking and saw Kiyo's ears. The words half-breed were uttered and thankfully, she completely missed it. I had to force his gate closed before he did something he'd regret."

The change in his mood was sudden. So sudden, it even caught the Kitsune Mage by surprise as she quickly turned to make 'uppy' motions to the behemoth.

The Mindbender easily took her small frame before asking smoothly, "It's been properly dealt with?"

Her golden eyes flashed with something darker before she gave a shrug, her voice unreadable, "It's been dealt with. I don't know if I'd call it proper though."

Her answer seemed suffice enough as they continued their trek to the outskirts of town to visit Blue Pegasus.

xXxXxXxXxXx

"You have a kid." The even deadpan of Laxus' voice made it sound like a statement rather than the question he wanted. Really, what else would you think when you looked at the little girl. The expressions were wrong but the features were spot on.

Lucy rolled her eyes as she fixed Tsukiya's boot for the tiny child, "Hello, Laxus. It's really nice to see you again. Oh, I'm doing good, thank you asking. I'd like for you to meet my goddaughter, Tsukiya." Ducking her head to press their foreheads together to get the young mage's attention, "Kit-kat, I'd like you to meet some more of my nakama. This is Laxus. He's a Dragon Slayer."

"Swayer?" She knew that would pique the little girl's interest.

"Mmhmm. Can you guess what his magic is?"

Kaleb had been immediately pulled into a rough hug by Bickslow before being dragged to the table where Freed and Evergreen were already seated so it was just the three blonde mages and the biggest of them was currently staring down the youngest of them with a less than warm emotion. More amusing yet was the miniscule mage refusing to back down under the glare.

The little Fox Mage crossed her arms over her chest before her tail started swishing out of annoyance. "Wightning."

At the sight of Tsukiya's fluffy tail, Lucy's eyes bugged a little as she tried to swallow her laughter. Her goddaughter rarely let her tail come out. Like with her ears, it was a target of careless comments and they made people nervous, especially in the castle. So to see it twitching back and forth meant that either she was comfortable enough to let it show or annoyed enough that she couldn't help the basic instinct. Either way, Lucy found the situation endlessly amusing.

"That's right, baby. He likes to pull the lightning right out of the sky and eat it."

Her voice was tinged in wonder as the young kit looked up at the dragon slayer in awe. "Weawy?"

She poked the end of her twitching nose playfully. "Just like you gobble down cookies."

The pale grey of her eyes widened in blatant awe as Laxus squirmed under the child's scrutiny.

Lucy's voice was teasing as she set the little blonde on her feet to make her way to Kaleb, "She's just a kid, Spark Plug. I can't promise she won't bite though. She uses Fox Magic after all." Her chocolate eyes didn't leave the child's frame until she had safely clambered up into Kaleb's lap.

He gave a grunt of acknowledgement before asking gruffly, "Where'd you pick her up then?"

She gave a shake of her head before rolling her eyes to meet his, "I'm going to pretend you didn't just speak about that living breathing human being as if she were a fruit at the market and one of the maid's when I was young named me godmother two years ago. Neither of her parents are mages and I absolutely adore her so if it gets to be too much, I come in and kidnap her for a week or so."

Another grunt was his only response as they stood watching over a guild hall that wasn't home for either of them.

Laxus felt the cool metal of her rings as her hand wrapped around the muscle of his forearm and he almost let out the breath he felt like he had been holding for months when the rest of her body leaned against his side, but he thought better of it. "When do you leave?"

"The end of the week if all goes as planned. I have the get myself a new guild mark when I touch down." Her voice wavered unsteadily as her grip tightened unconsciously.

"Blondie, I can't imagine you going to a better guild than Kaleb's Sea. Is there any skin left for your mark to go?"

She knew he was teasing her to make her feel better and she would be lying if she said it wasn't working. "Few spots here and there. None that you'll be seeing anytime soon unless you visit me all the way in Bosco."

"It has been awhile since I've been back."

A slow curling smile spread across her face when she saw the quirk of his smirk and she knew the Lightning Slayer would make the trip at least once. "Big boy like you could use some time in Bosco anyway." She sent the blushing slayer a cheeky wink before heading over to force Evergreen and Freed into a hug.

Without hesitation, they both returned the Celestial Mages easy affection.

"Lucy! You look amazing! Bickslow said you changed for the better and I totally agree." The Fairy Mage's words were genuine as she sat back down across from the Pradesh brothers.

"You'll have to tell me of your travels. I'm very curious to hear where you've been and congratulations of becoming Fiore's first ambassador." The Rune Mage's hold tightened for just a second longer before releasing the joyful blonde and sitting next to his fellow Blue Pegasus guildmate.

Lucy's hand was resting on the broad muscled shoulder of the older Pradesh, her body practically bent over his as she ran her fingers through Tsukiya's hair absently. "Oh Freed, it was wonderful. I've met so many people and learned things I didn't even know possible. The library in Caelum was sinfully overstuffed with books ranging from ancient tomes to instruction manuals for shelving. It would definitely be to your benefit to take a trip sometime."

"That's just was he needs, more books. You know Caelum is also known for its military. It's all male military." Bickslow's voice was casual but the innuendo of his words wasn't lost on the adults present.

The lilting quality of the Celestial bombshell's voice was completely at odds with her words as she moved to sit on the other side of the Seith Mage. "And their uniforms. Talk about well rounded men, indeed. The far east island had more training facilities than residential and that just so happens to be where most of the libraries of Caelum are as well. What a sweet coincidence, don't you think, Freed?"

The usually regal man was blushing fiercely and Lucy was sure if he wasn't so refined, he would have been floundering.

Laxus' tone was measured and bored, like usual, as he took the seat across from Lucy. The little blonde had a sneaking suspicion it had nothing to do with herself and everything to do with the Kitsune Mage glaring at him from her perch on Kaleb's lap. "Oi, leave Freed alone. I need him functional for the job."

Bickslow perked up at his leader's words. "Job? We got a job?"

The haughty brunette's voice cut in before Laxus could answer. "When do we leave? How long is it? Where are we going because I swear to Mavis, if you take me on another of your backwoods bumbling manhunts and I can't be clean or sleep in a bed, I will make you regret this decision."

"You mean more than I already do right now, Ever? Because I don't think that's possible."

With a heated 'hmmph', she crossed her arms over her chest and raised the end of her nose just slightly.

"Lulu." Tsukiya's even voice was more of a question than a statement, as if the child where looking to confirm the older woman's presence.

Her response was automatic and warm as she ducked her head to look into the little mage's eyes from under both Kaleb and Bickslow's arms from where they leaned on the tabletop. "What's up, kit-kat?"

"Outside."

Her head tilted and the mass of hair on the back of her head gave just slightly. "You wanna go outside and play?"

When Tsukiya gave an enthused nod of her head, the gilded beauty laughed before motioning for her to come over to her quickly. She was expecting the child to slide off Kaleb's lap and walk her way over but instead, she watched as her goddaughter's too large ears stood up with a determined look on her face. One tentative hand raised to tug at the material of the Seith Mage's knightly armor, her voice matching the fierce glint in her eye. "'Scuse me, sir."

Bickslow's words died in his throat as he smiled down at the fierce little blonde, his easy voice bristling the fur of her tail, "What can I do for you, beautiful?"

She stared into his visor with apprehension, quickly losing her courage.

The blunette looked up into his older brother's knowing eyes for help before the Mindbender tapped just above his brow and Bickslow understood.

He continued to talk Tsukiya as he undid the buckles of the plate covering his eyes. "You know, I once knew a Princess with ears just like yours. They were soft and lovely and she was the kindest ruler I've ever met."

By the time his face was clear for her to see and he pulled his hood down, the Fox Mage had settled into stranger danger levels of fear. A significant improvement from murderous creep to be sure. "Princess Hisui is kind." Her words were a challenge.

"And beautiful as well."

"Not like Pretty."

Kaleb suddenly felt a very small hand on his cheek. His voice was deep as he gave the girl a smile before meeting his brother's amused gaze, "No one is as beautiful as Tsukiya's Pretty, bro. Not even princesses."

Feeling satisfied and emboldened by the back up, she looked up into swirling deep pools of red and spoke evenly, "'Scuse me."

The Seith let out a few good-natured laughs before leaning back to let her through to the openly laughing Celestial Mage on his other side. "After you, boss lady."

Halfway across the vast expanse of Pradesh laps, Tsukiya was met by one of Bickslow's babies. His smallest and most wily baby. They stared at each other, the mage curiously and the totem wide eyed on account of his being carved with wide eyes. In an unexpected gesture of affection, the Kitsune Mage lowered her ears and rubbed along the totem before crawling into Lucy's lap and waiting patiently to go outside.

"Hm." The absent shock at her actions was quickly masked by bubbling energy as the blonde twirled them out of the seat and towards the back of the guild, her voice calling back as curiosity took hold in the pair of mischievous females. "We'll be exploring if you need us! Come join us if you have courage enough!"

As the guild slowly went back to their conversations, Evergreen spoke up, "I know those two aren't actually related but wow, that is a weird sight to see."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

After they had said their goodbyes and be safes, Kaleb was feeling particularly caged and restless. He hadn't had a good workout in too long and his magic was taking a toll. Usually when it got this bad, he'd find a willing partner and burn through the feeling until he was sated enough to pass out in peace. For some reason, he desperately wanted to lift something heavy instead.

"You're bringing down the team, Guildmaster, and half of us are asleep." She was teasing him but her magic was soothing his. It confused him even more that her magic was doing it completely involuntarily.

He stretched his shoulders back, the material covering his chest pulling tight against the carved muscle of his pecs, before stating, "I need to work out, blow off some serious steam."

Her eyes lit with excitement as she had to keep herself from bouncing too abruptly as to not jostle the sleeping toddler in her arms. "We could spar. I haven't sparred with a mage in...stars, it's been months. I've been in plenty of fights but I never find anyone interested in a good round of healthy sparring."

Again, she kept managing to surprise him. No one, absolutely no one, offered to spar with him and oddly enough the one person that did reminded him a lot of Lucy. Maybe the similarities of his youngest brother and the former Fairy Tail and soon to be White Sea member had the potential to become a problem. "You actually want to have a go at me."

"Are you kidding me? I haven't come across a Mindbender Mage in...well never. Unless you count Cobra. Which I don't."

"I'm a Wizard Saint."

"That's impressive," her dry sarcasm grating before continuing, "I watched Laxus take down a Wizard Saint and I'd like to one up the overgrown insulator."

"I'm your Guildmaster."

"Not yet technically and if that's an issue for you, we are going to have to do this sooner than later because your fancy title isn't going to stop me."

"You're the ambassador between Bosco and Fiore."

"And look at me strengthening our relationship through camaraderie and friendly competition."

He rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "You really want to fight me?"

"Almost as much as I want to fuck you."

"Which is as inappropriate as fighting me, mind you."

"Funny because I'm pretty sure you were just about to agree to fight me."

The back and forth was lightning fast, Lucy's side full of coy, playful tones and his full of amused reluctance as they walked the streets of Crocus.

"I don't think you realize what you're signing up for, fatina."

With a roll of her eyes, she gave his back a few patronizing pats. "Okay, so how about to even the playing field, it's a no-magic spar. Purely physical. I wouldn't want to embarass you so soon, Guildmaster."

His eyes snapped to hers and saw only the same glint of excitement as before. She had full confidence in taking him on one to one, hand to hand. He had more than a solid hundred pounds of muscle mass and a foot and a half on her. Not to mention, he really couldn't turn off his magic.

"As much as I think that a marvelous idea, my magic isn't easy to block out. I'll have the advantage regardless."

"Let's compromise then. You use your inherent and always present mind voodoo and I use my always present light tricks and we see how it goes. No spirits or Stardresses on my part."

He let out a breath before looking down at her open, uninhibited face that showed nothing but smiles before the twitch of a fluffy tail caught his attention. "And where will Tsukiya be through all this commotion?"

"Up in bed where she should be. I'll have Lyra and Loke come out to watch her. The real question is where can we go that won't be another reason for me to be thrown in jail."

One sharp brow raised at her words before he teased, "Been in many jail cells?"

"And cages. And traps. Even holes. I find myself in the funniest of places and I've learned it's best to just accept it." She wasn't kidding either. If she thought being with Fairy Tail was bad for her luck, traveling the continent seemed to be a harsher test. The difference between then and now was that she didn't have to wait around for someone else to save her anymore.

Kaleb took her words in stride as they made their way down the streets towards their house, her quiet humming filling the air with a gentle peace and a calm before the storm feeling washed over him.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

They were both panting, sweat dripping down from both their chins as they crouched across from each other. Kaleb had long since learned that Lucy had no intention to fight him head on but to wait, ducking and dodging his advances, until he tired himself out and got clumsy and slow. A very sound strategy if it hadn't been for the fact that he just stopped attacking and it forced her to change tactics.

The agile blonde was trying valiantly to get close to his body while he defended her barrage of quick jabs. So far, they had both succeeded in a stalemate.

That is until Lucy huffed and disappeared.

Kaleb's voice was a tired kind of exasperation as he looked up, "Really? Really. Because I love that so much when Van does it."

So he waited. He waited because that's all you could do when someone blinked out of this plane of existence.

He knew the instant she returned but she had already landed her first two blows down the line of his spine and he felt his legs give. What Lucy had not accounted for in her haste for victory was that her opponent was a solid man of at least two-hundred pounds and he was going to come down hard.

Which he did. Right on top of her significantly smaller frame.

She was trying desperately to shove him off her so she could resume normal lung function as she gasped out, "Please...Gods...get up."

"I can't feel my legs, woman. What in the hells did you do to me?" He made no effort to get up or move. Her chest made an ecsquisit pillow while he waited for his legs to gain mobility.

Finally managing to shimmy enough that her legs weren't bent awkwardly beneath his butt and she could breathe, she stared down at the lazy Pradesh. Her voice was airy as she pulled his platinum hair from his face, "My little secret, Guildmaster. You should be able to feel your legs soon, I didn't put much fire into it."

"Are you ever going to explain how you have such an immense magical presence that you dampen it almost constantly?" He posed the question casually but he was curious and she rarely put any thought into the action.

Her motions stilled as if she just realized that she was doing it right then and there was a sudden pressure to the air before it warmed and waned. "I'm used to having to hide it so I don't attract the wrong kind of attention. As if being a Celestial Mage wasn't a beacon in it of itself, I'm the first to use it the way I do. I tried cuffs but my stars eat through them so fast, it's not worth it for me to keep buying them."

"So you suppress it within yourself? That seems hardly safe."

Her smile was fond as the glint of her septum piercing caught the light coming from the night sky. "Not within myself persay. Most of my jewelry are conduits for my magic and it's more like staunching the flow. I don't think my spirits like it very much but they understand it's necessary sometimes. We were in Pergrande before hoping a boat to Enca and I've seen the pits. I...it was like I was drawn there. I saw what they made of gladiators and champions. I spent most of my time at the end in disguise."

The fighting pits of Pergrande were barbaric and merciless. World renowned, they brought all walks of life to the harsh country. Kaleb was very familiar. "How long were you there?"

"A month maybe. The countryside I loved and the people were hearty and straightforward in an all too refreshing way. It wasn't until I made it to the city that I started getting paranoid."

He had gotten quiet but not in thought, the strong line of his brow was relaxed for once and Lucy let the night's noises wash over them. Emptying her own head of the worries of things to come, the anticipation she always felt heading off on a new adventure, and stilling the constant flow of thoughts to just sit in silence under the stars.

It wasn't until the chill of the night started cooling her sweat slicked skin that she realized that Kaleb had fallen asleep on top of her.

Well, things could be worse. Lucy leaned forward to brace the bulky man before opening her gate below them and praying for the best.

XxXxXxXxXxX

When she cracked her golden eyes to see that she had successfully transported them to her bedroom safely and without commotion, she could have cried. If she knew what Kaleb's room looked like, she would have taken them there but if she got it wrong, she would be taking an even more painful fall with the massive mage. No, she definitely did not want that. Her bed would be fine. It was plenty large enough for the both of them. Of course with the way they were now, just about any bed that could fit Kaleb's frame would do considering she was still under him.

She threw her head back to flop on the bed to try to gather enough gumption to move his massive body off of hers. Wouldn't you know it, the gods must have been smiling on her because the moment she leaned up on her elbows, Kaleb rolled right off her body to lay on his stomach.

The breath of relief she let out felt monumental as she snuck away to change for bed. Pausing to look back at her slumbering beauty, she moved to take his boots off before proceeding to the bathroom.

She wasn't so surprised to see the drowsy ears of her goddaughter out of bed to greet her at the doorway. She slept like a brick but only when she slept next to someone so Lucy just scooped her up and carried her sleepy form to her bed where the mass of handsome Boscan must have flipped back to where he was on his back.

Her voice was faint and ethereal as she laid the already in the beginnings of sleep child between her and Kaleb, "Goodnight, kit-kat. Sweet dreams."

When the older blonde finally settled and Tsukiya had cuddled into her chest, she let sleep take her.

xXxXxXxXx

Farron was impressed. He would have to have been blind to not see the chemistry between Lucy and his closest brother but he had to admit, standing here in the doorway looking over the overwhelmingly sweet scene of the trio of blondes in a very cozy cuddle session, they looked like naturals. And would you look at that, he just so happened to have been taking pictures of the sunrise to capture the moment.

When Kaleb finally cracked his eye open, his older brother had practically crawled into bed with them. He was already out of sorts waking up in Lucy's room, in Lucy's bed, wrapped around Lucy and Lucy's goddaughter. Everything he was perfectly happy about save the last. The last threw a wrench into his thought process.

"Fare."

His Sound Mage brother all but sing-songed back to his grumble, "Yes, little bro?"

"Get out."

"Right, right." He took pictures continuously as he backed out of the room. "Breakfast is made and I need you to make sure Lucy gets a proper gown for the party."

His hand that was currently resting against the bare skin of her back came up to rub the side of his face.

He felt a dainty hand wrap around his wrist before sliding up to pull his hand down and back to it's prior resting place. Meeting her heavy-lidded gaze quizzically, the unpredictable woman smiled at him before nuzzling back into the muscle of his arm and falling back asleep. He quickly followed suit in a rare moment of laziness.

The second time he woke, the Kitsune Mage had very obviously needed to use the restroom as she squirmed practically on top of his stomach. She was tugging at his sleeve vigorously and as if on autopilot, the Mindbender scooped her up, walked them to the bathroom, helped her through the process, washed her hands and laid back down in bed.

Tsukiya was giggling as she tumbled around the soft mattress while Lucy sat up and stretched, the tight material of her soft t-shirt leaving little to the imagination as she did. Her voice was drawn and dazed and her faintly glowing eyes were glazed with sleep, "Mornin' Kaleb. Thanks for taking care of Kiya."

"Thanks for not leaving me out in that field."

Her laughter was soft as she moved to get up for the day, "Yeah, well wherever you were stuck, so was I and it was getting a little nippy out."

Kaleb was perfectly content to stay lounged back on the bed while the Kitsune child used his body like a jungle gym, especially when the very flexible Celestial Mage started to go through an impressive yogic stretching session.

"I heard I have to get a D-R-E-S-S today. Is that for the send off?" She sounded as if she hadn't just rolled out of bed and started bending her body like a pretzel, casual and unfazed.

He brought a hand up to his hair and cringed. Not only had he kept it in the tangled, sweaty mess from the fight but it had loosened in his sleep. He had a very real need for a shower. "Yes, and I should clarify that Farron said G-O-W-N, as in extremely formal. This was originally to be a celebration for the growing relations between our countries with the hopes of having an ambassador. There will be a lot of prominent families from both Bosco and Fiore."

"Peachy. I've always loved stuffy parties where my dress was so tight I couldn't eat or breath and the company had sticks so far up their backsides, I caught glimpses of them when they opened their mouths wide enough to let the full brunt of their egos out." Her arms had raised above her head as she balanced effortlessly on the ball of her foot.

"Not sure that's the best mindset to go into this, fatina." Tsukiya had crawled onto his lap and requested his hands as she faced Lucy and mimicked her moves with the Mindbender's assistance.

Closing her eyes a moment, she inhaled deeply before releasing the breath and the pose slowly. "I know, Loke and I just had the whole 'too young to be bitter' conversation. On the plus side, I haven't been to see Madam Larue in ages. I hope she still has that shop on Main."

When she finally noticed she had a student, Lucy bent backwards until her palms were flat on the carpet in a backbend before kicking her feet up and balancing in a handstand. Looking back, she rolled onto the floor at the sight of Tsukiya upside-down with her tail swishing to help her 'balance' while Kaleb held her feet for her.

When the hulking man lifted her from his stomach, she tried to twist to glare at him but couldn't get her body around so she settled on hitting him with her tail before disappearing altogether.

He had to admit, he wasn't expecting that as he set the child down carefully before watching her footsteps toddle to the end of the bed, sliding to the floor and reappearing on Lucy's back.

The blonde gave him a devious smirk before turning her head to address the little girl, "Ready for breakfast, fox baby?"

The pair was about out the doorway before she called back over her shoulder, "You'll have plenty of time to shower while we make the cinnamon buns but between you and me, the tousled look is pretty S-E-X-Y." Her lilting laughter followed her down the hall before fading into quiet babbling with her goddaughter.

For some inane reason, his father popped into his head. Arman Pradesh is going to fall in love with her which meant she was going to be around and that meant she would at the very least meet both Cristoff and Vander. Kaleb knew the blonde was exactly his younger brother's type and for the first time in his life, that unsettled him. He definitely needed a shower.

Lucy had already pulled on the floral apron Farron had worn earlier on and Tsukiya had asked Virgo for her own which the pinkette was more than happy to oblige with a flowered apron of her own. They were dancing to softly playing string music when he finally entered the kitchen, the smell of cinnamon buns filling the house and the sound of a faint melody being sung underbreath with perfect pitch.

Waiting until the song was over before clearing his throat, Tsukiya's eyes brightened before motioning to be let down. The moment her bare feet hit the ground, she was off like a flash back into the living room and disappearing from view.

Having showered and put on clean clothes, he felt much better and was ready for whatever weirdness the blonde ladies in his life attracted as he crossed the kitchen to pour himself some coffee, noticing she had already poured herself two cups.

Her silky tresses were falling down her back as her tie loosened from the movements of her stirring the frosting and in an effort to push them back out of her face, she brushed them back only to put a line of frosting across her cheek before focusing back on the task at hand. "Be surprised, okay?"

His brows were about to furrow when she nodded back towards the living room and the Kitsune Mage and he made the connection. The hulking Guildmaster waited patiently for his favorite child to pop out from wherever she was hiding so he could be play the part of scared damsel.

Which he did skeptically well at as Lucy pulled the buns from the oven as unbridled girly giggles rang through the kitchen and Kaleb slumped to the floor. The Kitsune Mage quickly crawled on his chest as the victor, claiming her trophy.

They ambled through their breakfasts before Lucy finally told the little girl that they were going to go dress shopping and peals of excited screams echoed off every surface of the house.

Which continued as Lucy left the exuberant child to the platinum-haired Adonis so she could shower and change for the day.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

"No, I'm thinking...uuhmmm, white. Yes, white. Like the foam of the sea." Madam Larue was an eccentric woman getting up in years with more screws loose than tight, but she was a genius with fabric. Savant really, as she hobbled around the workshop she had cleared completely when Lucy's golden gaze met hers.

She rubbed the back of her head as she looked genuinely over the whole process as yet another swath of white-ish fabric was thrown over her body adorned only in the set of nude lingerie Madam Larue picked from the many Virgo brought out. It was a low-back smooth corset with high-waisted panties, cutouts lined all but the very back and the front to keep everything smooth beneath the fabric of her hopefully soon-to-be dress. "Don't you think a white dress is a little...momentous for a diplomatic dinner?"

"Nonsense, child. I see you in white, sheer and soft. Swaying in the breeze like wheatstock."

Kaleb raised a brow at the elderly woman's words before looking back at Lucy and mouthing, Like wheatstock.

She gave him a playful scolding look before a wide embroidered ribbon came down to wrap around the layers upon layers of fabric to make it poof just below her waist. The grunt and glare aimed at the seamstress were very genuine however, as Madam Larue's surprisingly strong arms tightened the ribbon before stepping back and taking the sight in.

Kaleb thought it looked like a hot mess and from the serious look on Tsukiya's face, she agreed with him.

Suddenly, Lucy was standing on the pedestal in the middle of the room in nothing except her underwear as Madam Larue croaked back at them with a pile of fabric in her arms, "Out. I'll have it ready in two days."

In a golden flash, Lucy had pulled a dress from the Spirit World and was quickly tugging the dark floral cotton tank dress over her head before pulling a wide belt out and tightening the lacing over her midsection to cinch her perfect hourglass waist as the excess fabric pooled around her legs and feet. Piling half her endless white-gold hair in a heap before clipping it in place, she took the two foot drop with ease before taking the Fox Mage's hand and leaving the shop, Kaleb's frame close behind the pair as he had to consciously keep his jaw closed after the display of superhero costume change.

The next two days went by in a hurry between Tsukiya and Lucy's endless amount of energy and Kaleb and Lucy's now regular sparring session. Lucy had dropped off the ball of giggles at Haru's and was currently on her way to get her dress which she would then take to the castle to get ready with Princess Hisui.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Farron had quickly excused himself from the bone dry conversation they were trapped in with a Fioran paper company owner and a man who owned a series of small bookstores like the skilled diplomat he was to wait at the bottom of the massive stone staircase at the back of the Lily Ballroom. Kaleb hadn't been so lucky as he tried to stay as politely quiet as he could manage, engaging the two men who had more in common with cardboard than himself as little as possible. His lithe fingers grabbed another flute of champagne from a passing wait staff member before the hall went silent and Princess Hisui was announced. The green-haired royal was radiant as ever in a deep emerald ball gown with white fur trim around her neckline in a way that tastefully accentuated her womanly form as a subdued smile spread across her face. Farron met her at the bottom of the railing and escorted her to wait on the dance floor.

Knowing this was where he came in, the Guildmaster downed the rest of his drink and excused himself to make his way to the place his elder brother just left at the bottom of the grand staircase, his presence drawing the gaze of many a party-goer as his expertly built body weaved through the crowd.

The loud, reverberating voice of the announcer called most of the attention back to the empty space at the top of the steps, a spotlight ready and shining. "Now presenting,the First Official Ambassador for Fiore and Liaison appointed by Princess Hisui and King Tomo between the royal family and the Boscan government, Ambassador and Chief Liaison Lucy Heartfilia."

The collective gasps and whispers that rang through the crowd was a mix of jealous venom and genuine awe of her beauty as she stood at the landing of the stairs in a pure white gown that held an ethereal otherworldly quality as the feather-light layers of gossamer white split as she descended the steps, her golden heels flashing and drawing attention to the faint glint of her tattoos covering the tanned and shapely curve of her legs as she went but what was the most catching, what really captured the timeless beauty of the Celestial Light Mage was the unadulterated look of happiness etched onto her gorgeous face. Her hair was pulled back in a wispy curled tangle to contrast the heavy-handed smokey eye that made the pale golden glow of her eyes glimmer as brightly as her stars seemed to preen under the attention.

Taking Kaleb's offered arm quickly, Lucy's voice was teasing and much to the older mage's surprise, much closer to his ear than before, leaving him to feel the heat of her breath slip down the collar of his crisp white formalwear, "Do you think it's the dress?"

He let out a few quiet chuckles as the impossibly beautiful couple made their way to the dance floor to start the evening's festivities.

As the orchestra started playing, her partner swept her out as if to display the gilded beauty before he brought her into his body, not caring about leaving any amount of respectable distance between them, and started the steps of a tradition waltz as the first couple to move.

"I would have wore my Knight armor if I'd known I'd be dancing with a goddess." His voice was low and teasing as his lavender eyes shined with mirth, the conversation affecting the smooth movements of their dance none.

A perfectly arched brow raised at the bold flirtation. "A goddess am I? Goddess of what exactly?" She was trying to not be obscene as she shamelessly felt the toned muscle of his shoulder under her hand and sighed internally at the hardened feel of it. She knew the kind of dedication required to build muscles like that and the strength and stamina that came with them had her core quivering. It had been much too long since she got any and it was starting to affect her mental processes.

"Unpredictability and spontaneity." It was a statement but the question of her words was caught by blonde despite her distracted thoughts and twirling headspace.

She thought for a moment before offering slyly, her approval of his words obvious from the devious quality of her quirked smile, "Sounds like a boring way to say mischief and mayhem."

The silky strands of his hair, which where loose but smoothed back from his face with one of his circlet-like pieces of jewelry, shined with luster as he shook his head, his grip tightening over hers minutely. His velvety voice was light with an air of play that suited him far more than the stern look that usually adorned his face while in the castle, "Remind me to never be in a room alone with you and Van."

"I am really excited to meet this mysterious younger Pradesh. We seem to be cut from the same cloth, he and I." After seeing three of the seven Pradesh brood, she had extremely high hopes for the remaining five.

His laughter rumbled through his chest and straight to her core in a way that made her acutely aware of every single connection between the two unlikely mages, both physical and otherwise. "For your sake, I hope that's not true."

"Excuse me, may I cut in?" The voice was heavily accented and lilting, drawing his vowels out just enough cock her head to the side in confusion before suddenly, she was being dipped and her mystery foreigner was a blur.

Lucy was breathless and giggling as she clutched the fabric of his jacket. "Kaleb! Give a girl a warning!"

Finally upright, she felt light and bubbly as she made eye contact with an admittedly striking man, the man who she presumed just asked for the dance. The thing that made Lucy inhale much too sharp of a breath was the alarming amount of gaudy baubles covering every inch of his persons. Swallowing the choking laughter threatening to bubble from her throat, she looked to her Mindbender pleading for help.

With only the small knowing smile as his tell, his measured silky voice sounded, "Lord Kinsley, I wasn't aware you were attending the festivities."

"And miss the coming out of Lady Ambassador Heartfilia? Nonsense."

"It's quite the trek from Royal Palace. Weather's usually picking up about this time."

"True. Tell me, how is the royal family of Bosco? I hear your Princess is quite a handful." The snide look on the lord's face had Kaleb's hand tightening where it still rested at her hip.

It was in that moment that she realized two things: one, she really liked the way she felt being held by such a capable and powerful man and two, these two men knew each other. Looking between the two as they continue their barely civil back and forth, she openly laughed at the males. With a wipe of her eye, she gave Kaleb's chest a few pats with her free hand, her voice lilting and playful, "Pardon me but I am parched and I've got a date to go pick up. Be back in a flash, Guildmaster," and with a cheeky wink, she was gone. Leaving behind one suddenly very in tune Pradesh and one very confused Lord of Iceburg.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Kit-kat, are you ready?" The blonde crooned lazily from where she splayed across the chaise in one of the castle's guestrooms.

Haru's scolding voice came from the bathroom, "Lucy, I cannot believe you actually left your own party. You are missing it for no reason. I could have just dropped her off-"

"Miss Haru, I'm taking your daughter now and you should make your way to the party when you're finished." Her voice was stern but her golden eyes shined with mirth as she scooped the little giggling Kitsune Mage up before kissing the older woman's cheek and stepping back through her gate.

The instant the Tsukiya turned her head and took in the enchanting, fairy-tale atmosphere, her eyes went googly, melting into Lucy as her eyes stayed peeled to take everything in. It was one of the Celestial Mage's favorite things about her goddaughter, her insatiable need to take it all in. It would take her the whole evening to formulate her opinion and talk, which was perfectly fine with her. She was more than content to spend the rest of the night spinning her little princess around under the twinkling lights.

That is until the Fox Mage spotted one platinum blonde pretty boy in his formalwear and aggressively pointed in his direction until her guardian obliged and made her move to cross the ballroom.

This went horribly for the pair. Every three steps someone was calling Lucy's name or asking a million questions about Tsukiya, if she was her daughter, would this put a damper on the budding romance possibilities, was the illegitimate child a love child from a different country. They were lucky she was in a good mood, taking everything in stride like a true diplomat before practically lunging and grabbing the Mindbenders arm. "Wait! Don't go anywhere just yet, I have someone very eager to dance with you."

It was a good thing Kaleb was a Mindbender or Tsukiya would have taken a very long fall but her flying leap was caught and the two were twirling around the dance floor before Lucy could even let out a panicked huff.

In the rare moment of peace, the rest of the noise and bodies surrounding her faded and she focused on the look of delight, ears perky and tail swishing in time beneath her dress, on Tsukiya's face and the inhuman beauty of her soon to be official guildmaster. Thankfully, she would have months travelling with Farron for her training before she even had to think about joining the ranks of the White Sea. She had time to enjoy her freedom for just a little bit longer and she damn well would enjoy it.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Groans sounded from where she had flopped face down on her bed. She had been with Fare for eight months. Eight months. She loved the Sound Mage, she respected him and the good work he does and she just adored getting to see the amazing man he was out of the spotlight but he was rigid with her education. Realistically, she felt like she was made for the work. It was the horrible lulls in between when they got to get things done that made her want to Lucy-kick every man with jowls that hung lower than their dicks. Instead, she was smiling and making small talk. Small talk. It was only the meetings that she felt trapped. They had finally made it back to Bosco after a solid two weeks of meetings delegating between the landowners in Fiore and the airship companies for ideal land to build the first port. Those stuffy asshats were so excited to hear what Farron had to say but when she made a suggestion, they gave polite nods while the 'real' ambassador built off her ideas to come to a perfect compromise. The blonde couldn't help but roll her eyes at the irritating memory.

She was thankful to be in her spacey loft, face deep in the plush fluff of her comforter and not trapped in one of Boscos infamous airships with people less interesting than the dust that gathered in the holds. Lucy wanted to sleep for a week and then run for another week straight. Just to see if her legs still worked in more than just a sitting or standing capacity. Toeing off her boots while inhaling the scent of something other than musty, stale meeting-room air, she felt the familiar twinge of her magic that marked the inevitable arrival of her favorite guildmaster. Her lips split into a wide smile at the thought before pushing her body up, knowing she had just enough time to strip out of her well-traveled disgusting leather and into a loose silky sarong from Enca with the traditional floral print and a cropped tank top before she heard knocking at her door. It always made her laugh the rare few times she and Fare had time enough to come back to their home city because even though Kaleb had a key to her apartment, he always knocked and always waited until she opened the door to let him in. It was an old-fashioned notion that made her inner romantic swoon while tying back the top of her unruly head of hair.

Eight months is a long time. In that stretch of time, you can almost make a human and in that time, Lucy had zero interactions with the opposite sex. Or her own sex. Or anyone at all. To say she was pent up sexually would be an extreme understatement. For whatever reason, only one man has starred in her wet dreams and fantasies alike and he was most decidedly not a viable option. Yet here she was, practically vibrating with excitement because he insisted on coming over with dinner and wine. Sounded like a date to the blonde and frankly, she liked it that way. She just didn't know if he did.

Finally opening the door, she took in the sight of the towering, devastatingly handsome blond carrying far too many bags for a simple dinner date. Her voice faltered a little as he walked passed her and into her kitchen but brightened after shutting the door and padding behind him with a look of sheer joy on her face. "I hope you plan on making a lot of food because I'm starving."

His velvety chuckle rang through her and almost instantly, she felt like she had been given a breath of fresh air for the first time since leaving Fiore. "Don't worry, fatina, I've got all your favorites."

Her eyes went wide as she melted against his body in a dramatic show of both appreciation and impatience, her voice drawn, "From that bistro in the arts quarter?"

He repeated her mockingly with a sly smile curling his lips as he started unpacking container after container, "From that bistro in the arts quarter."

Unabashedly, she wrapped her arms around his body from behind, her chin pressing into the cut muscle of his back at the drastic height difference. "You are totally worth every bit of your Wizard Saint title, sir. Bravo. The people's hero for sure."

The sun had been just setting when she first came back to her apartment and as she went through the usual routine of going through her luggage and now it was firmly over the horizon, the pair had eaten through most of the food, all the dessert and all the wine Kaleb had brought.

She had meandered her way back through the open layout of her loft, one of her secret stash bottles of scotch tucked under her arm and two low tumblers in her hand as she spoke coyly to the Mindbender lounged back over her couch, his eyes on the view of the city before turning to meet her lightly glowing gaze from the night sky and her lowered inhibition. "What has my illustrious guildmaster been up to while I've been working my youth away?"

Her tone had dipped but stayed playful as she settled next to him. They were both dancing around their attraction and they knew it. His words were flirty and her actions were coquettish. They were cuddled on her loveseat, for Mavis' sake, and Kaleb himself took up most of the couch anyway so even if she didn't want to be cuddled next to him, they wouldn't have had a choice in the matter anyway.

Her thoughts were centered on trying to get through the next six months with Kaleb. It was the Mindbender who initially soothed the Magic Council and their lack of faith in an Independent Mage becoming ambassador and it was Kaleb's promise to personally bring her into the fold of the White Sea that kept them from tearing the whole thing apart from the beginning.

As she leaned forward to pour them their drinks, her grip on the bottle tightened enough that her knuckles turned white and before she had even registered her own emotions, a hand wrapped around her own to take the glass from her in a gentle but unstoppable motion.

She went doe-eyed at the simple contact as Kaleb's smooth as sin voice answered her forgotten question, "While you've been away, I've been dealing with the seamless inclusion of the former Fairy Tail mage and Heartfilia Heiress to the Sea. The rest of your guildmates have been chomping at the bit to meet you but the Princess, well she's being more of a handful than usual."

This time, Lucy's face twisted into a weird mix of anger and disappointment as she asked hotly from her misinterpretation of his vague words, "What do you mean the princess is being more-"

"Not your princess, fatina, mine. Bosco's Princess doesn't like threats to her things and while she has to remain within the code of the Immaculate Light to keep her status but that doesn't mean there aren't loopholes." In a careless, tipsy slip, the Wizard Saint ran his knuckles down the side of her face to the skin just below her jawline to draw a low purr of approval from the blond.

Her own drop in guard had her leaning into the touch as she answered in a haze, "Will I have to meet this princess? Because she sounds horrible and I don't do well around horrible people. I have a tendency of telling them how I feel."

Chuckling at both the metal image of Lucy meeting the tricksy royal and the genuine amusement the Celestial Mage pulled from him, he answered with an easy, "Not yet. She'll without a doubt summon you at the earliest possible time but fortunately, I've filled both our schedules with enough bullshit that she'd have to wait a year to even get a hold of the guild directly."

A slow curling satisfied smile split her lips before breathing out, "Won't that make things hard for you, Guildmaster?"

Granting her a casual shrug, his response wasn't a lie but the last thing he wanted to discuss right now was the princess and her insatiable vendetta against his family, "Undoubtedly but she has plenty to keep her busy in the meantime."

She gave vague noises of acknowledgment before taking the tumbler he offered, taking a sip and standing to stretch her back, the absent action pulling scenes from the morning in Crocus to show how limber her body was even at its worst point. It was only a few moments of comfortable silence before a playful spark lit in her eyes and she sent Kaleb another of her coy smiles over her shoulder, "Escort me to the balcony, good sir knight, I want to show you something." Something she had actually been content to keep to herself until a sudden change of heart just moments before.

Distracted by the golden glow of skin stretched over a capable, built body, he gave a dull nod of his head before downing the rest of his glass, watching her sway out into the cool air, pouring himself another, downing that glass and following after with a certain sense of rare apprehension and uncertainty in anything. It was exhilarating to have found someone so in tune with themselves, they rarely had to put any thought in their words and actions to give him a break after months of the relentless barrage that was his magic.

While she was trying to keep her hormones in check, he had spent the last eight months attempting to satiate his usual incredibly high sex drive with partner after partner only to realize that no matter who spent the night with, he always dreamt of tangled blonde hair and golden tattooed skin and it had driven him to the point of giving into the reckless desire. He even spent time trying to talk it through with Van and even his youngest brother thought it best to just get it out of the way and move on.

They were both adults with needs that didn't need to get in the way of either of their responsibilities. Neither would get any real flack from the Boscan side of things but the Fioran side would surely see the interaction inappropriate. Which meant keeping things enough under wraps enough that Fiore remained ignorant.

This was all banking on the feeling being mutual of course.

While Kaleb took his time to follow, Lucy was having a mental conversation with the spirits of her life.

Are you clinically insane, woman? He's a Wizard Saint, Master of your new guild, Master and wielder of Immaculate Light and not to put too fine of point on it, he's a member of the family currently putting their name on the line for you.

The worried ramblings of her neurotic and panicky Lion Spirit had her eyes rolling as she responded easily, and I'm a grown adult woman who is capable of making decisions with the possible consequences in mind. I'm not asking Kaleb to marry me; I'm just...going to open up a bit.

This time it was the smooth and snide tone of Cetus that took it upon himself to let his opinion be known. I'm actually a huge fan of this. The Mindbender is a powerful, level-headed man and I'm beyond excited to watch you try and keep it in your pants.

No, no, no, no. All pants will stay on. Where is Virgo when I need a chastity belt?

Again, the panicky tone that could only be the Leader of the Zodiac filled her headspace before she shot back, Enough! This is ridiculous. All I'm doing is going someplace a little more comfortable and private.

Lucy could hear Cetus' eyes rolling as he countered apathetically, Right because the privacy of your own home isn't quite enough, before all remnants of her spirits left her thoughts and she felt warmth across her shoulders in the form of Kaleb's sweatshirt.

His distinct voice quickly followed the sensation like the first resounding chord of a symphony, "You've picked a cool night for stargazing."

Her body turned to face the towering mage, the glow of her eyes making the emotion they held near blinding as bubbling optimism and hope shined through, almost like a physical blow to the seasoned fighter to answer him cryptically, "Not where we're going…"

Before Kaleb could put a stop to the blonde's adventurous nature, she was tugging him through her gate before the pair stepped out to the warm unfamiliar breeze that smelled like the ocean and strangely of a sweet floral scent the Mindbender couldn't place.

Lucy took in the tropical air through her nose, admiring the fruity undertones mostly masked by the combined scents of hibiscus and the moon-loving jasmine native to her tropical paradise. It took only a moment before she pulled on his fingers with her own in a loose grip towards the sounds of waves.

"Where are we right now?"

The question wasn't urgent or pressing, more so filled with a wonder Lucy recognized in herself. Kaleb held the same wanderlust she did and it made her heart flutter at the possibility of showing him something new.

Pulling through the last bit of foliage before answering, the celestial beauty waited the crystal clear waters were visible, her stars shining so brightly from the lack of light pollution that they could see the bottom of the sea even though the sun had long since set here. "We're on an island off the main shores of Enca. Unnamed and undiscovered thanks to Aquarius' spirit."

Kaleb waited patiently for her to continue, pulling his hand from hers to replace it low on her back to earn a soft smile from the tough mage.

"I happened to wash up on it back in the beginnings of my one woman traveling circus and it sort of became this...sanctuary for me. I always loved the beach but after Aquarius and everything with Fairy Tail, I started to resent it." Her own chuckles interrupted before she could continue, walking away from his gentle touch and towards the water as she pulled at the light material of her skirt to wade into the still warm water. "But the first ride I hitched turned out to be a bust and it was jump off or deal with handsy seamen for a month and I chose jump. I hadn't figured out how to gate-hop from water yet and was desperate for land when I woke up here and it felt like, not home but something better almost." Her gaze turned dewy as she turned to coax the wildly overdressed man towards her with her outstretched hand while the other did a shoddy job at keeping her skirt from the waves, "It's not much but it's just right, you know?"

His words came out regardless of his usual mental filters, "Untouched and pure. A rare thing in this world," which apparently was the right thing to say as he watched her soft smile grow and change into the brilliant, megawatt smile that could easily be the end of him one day.

The overwhelming heat that started spreading from his chest through the rest of his body seemed to have a plan of its own as he bent to roll the ends of his pants and pull his socks from his feet to join the wild woman, his words once again getting away from him thanks to the way she looked like a dream under the moonlight and his gross overconfidence in his bodies tolerance after so much booze in such a short time, "I've been thinking about you, fatina."

Unsurprised by his words thanks to her lack of belief in any real romantic feelings coming from Kaleb himself, she teased back with a saucy cock of her hips, "Have you now? Only naughty thoughts I hope."

In an even more uncharacteristic show of silence, Kaleb only responded with a devious grin of his own before joining her out in the gentle waves, his eyes focused upwards to miss the open admiration on her face.

They stayed like that, admiring the waves and the stars alike, for a few minutes before Lucy's lilting voice spoke up the same time Kaleb steeled his nerves and decided to just fuck it and take her hand to pull her into his chest. The end result a hilarious muffle of the Celestial Mage's watered down feelings while the Pradesh's magic read into the truth behind her unspoken but honest thoughts, leaving the two to their own realizations.

Lucy now fully understanding that trying to keep from feeling something deeper for Kaleb was futile while he came to know that his pining was not one-sided and more than reciprocated by the unique woman that seemed to unknowingly hold sway over him.

Just as he was about to pull back to look down at Lucy, she pulled back with a look of angry confusion that stunned him so much into his own spiral of foreign confused emotion since his magic had never been wrong before and it really looked like she did not like what was happening.

Again, her drastic change in mood cut off his attempt to get anything out as she let out an almost petulant groan as her head fell backwards before rolling down, her voice a low, irritated growl, "I have a visitor coming to my door at an ungodly hour and we have to get back pronto but let's put a serious, bright flashy bookmark on the mood because I am a huge fan. Very interested."

In the moment she stopped to take a breath, he found himself once again being tugged away by the gilded fairy of a woman through what was rapidly becoming more and more familiar sensation of gate-hopping until he was left staring down at the sand trail suddenly formed directly in front of her door, the faint remnants of the scent of the night-blooming flowers of Lucy's private island clinging to them.

As if that wasn't enough, when he lifted his head, taking keen notes on the fact that their fingers were still tangled together before refocusing on the face he least suspected in front of Lucy's door in the middle of the night.

His brows furrowed out of annoyance as he tried to keep from reaching out and smacking his youngest brother upside his smug face.

Seemingly already ahead of him, Lucy immediately started poking the foreign mages sculpted chest hotly through the soft leather covering it, her own irritation hard to miss as she laid into the unsuspecting attractive stranger, "Who in the fresh, fiery hell do you think you are coming here in the middle of night? How did you get passed Mr P?" Taking a moment to take in the quality of the leather under her finger and then the seamless, perfect fit of it, her head tilted curiously as she dropped Kaleb's hand in favor of tracing over the impossible piece of clothing out of wondrous appreciation for some good quality leather. Her words were excitable and earnest as she walked around his lithe body, his arms raising out of her way with a victorious smile on his lips as she did, "And where in the fuck did you find this beautiful piece of perfection?"

Giving his platinum goody-good brother a shit-eating, knowing grin, Vander temporarily ignored the stunning beauty feeling him up to offer a bland, "Kaleb," to his guildmaster and brother.

Before Kaleb rolled his eyes and countered equally as dry if not drier than the desert in a drought, "Vander."

Slightly annoyed at being ignored but mostly just antsy to find out where this guy got his armor made, she interjected helpfully, "And I'm Lucy. Nice to meet you, Vander. I've heard so much about you but before we get to that, I need you to tell me about this calamity covering your chest. I'm incredibly jealous and also confused." Finally stepping back to pull her hands from their wandering, much to Kaleb's very new and uncomfortable relief, to go back to her thoughtful contemplation from beside him, a hand bracing her other elbow while cradling her chin.

After another breath of silence, her neck craned up to ask, her light voice quizzical, "It would have to be magically manifested to be that well made and seamless, but what kind of magic could have that level of accuracy?"

Mumbling under her breath as she turned away from the two men to go about her musings, both Pradesh men watched in mild humor as she went through her own inner monologue while pacing, "Some sort of creation magic? Textile magic? No, that wouldn't cover leather. It would have to be some sort of specialized re-quip magic, but that wouldn't explain the seamless, flawless fit…"

In a pause in thought, she looked over her shoulder at the two males elbowing each other in a testosterone fueled show of brotherly affection before casually waving them over, "Why are you guys standing in the doorway? Come in already."

Before Vander could crane his neck up and call dibs, Kaleb gave the Shadowquip a deadpan look before immediately cutting the thought off, "No. Off limits."

The Mindbender cringed internally at Vander's smooth, annoyingly wise retort, "Oooo, is she now? Does she know that?"

As if it wasn't enough that the Celestial Mage just let the last human in all of Bosco he wanted to see in this particular moment of his life, he had to sit and watch as the two kindred souls quite literally bonded over everything for the next hour and a half before Vander turned towards the Mindbender with a lazy twist of his torso to get to the reason he came to Lucy's place in the first place, "Oh right, so the reason I'm here is because you've been requested by the Princess again and for some reason, not a soul alive has been able to get a hold of you for the passed few hours."

"As much as I look forward to my time with the Princess, I'm off the hook for the next six months I have Lucy. Before you give me shit for pushing her off on Cris or Fare, Cris is over with Dad and Farron leaves to meet them in the morning, where you are supposed to guard our big brother from harm. I wouldn't leave any of you to deal with her in my stead."

Sensing the tone of the relationship they had with the princess of Bosco, Lucy sat up from where she half-slumped over on the modern cube armchair across from Vander to walk into her bedroom without explanation.

Unfortunately, that left him to Vander's company and Vander's company alone.

"So what would happen if I happened to trip and end up inside her? Would you put me in timeout, big bro?"

As if on impulse when dealing with the Shadowquip, Kaleb's demeanor morphed into that of an overworked father on 'vacation' with his small children except there was only one, he wasn't anyone's father and Vander was more like a bitch in heat. "Get out, Vander."

He stuck his tongue out in a childish play at dancing on his older brothers last nerve before countering the demand easily as he leaned further back into the cushion of Lucy's still-new couch in a display of ease despite having only been here for less than two hours, "Not your house, not your call."

"Don't you have somewhere to be? Someone to fuck?"

Letting out devious laughter before pulling a blanket from the back of the couch, cozying in then putting his hands behind his head and scoffing out mirthfully, "Oho, do you really want me to answer that because I feel like you know I'm just going to poke the bear til it wakes up in a rage and then disappear from the repercussions of my reckless and immature actions with a cackle on my lips and a warm fuzzy feeling in my heart."

For the first time in a long time, Kaleb put some authority into his voice while it was directed at one of his family, "Seriously, dude. I need you to leave."

Hearing the foreign tone behind his words, the young mage's deep wine eyes shined with concern as he asked earnestly, "I mean, sure but are you okay? I get it, she's a fucking peach but you're brooding and it's pretty trippy for me."

His hand ran down his face as he started to feel the hangover take hold in his head, his voice even but drawn, "I have a few thoughts on the subject but for now, I just need time to figure it out."

As if her timing could have gotten any more perfect, a yawn cut through the words just as she was about to say them, only coming to hear the end of Kaleb's words.

Being the lady killer he was, Van stood to take Lucy's hand and press a chaste kiss to the back of her knuckles before giving a devilish smile to the sleepily smiling blonde and disappearing into the shadows completely.

"That's a neat party trick." Giving a mild shrug from where she stood in her Plue pajama set, Lucy's voice was lacking in the curiosity she actually held for Vander's magic.

"One I particularly loathe," was his tired response as his headache quickly multiplied and he felt the control of his magic falter to send a wave of sharp pain from the unfiltered thoughts surrounding him.

Giving into the pull to touch the platinum Adonis and ease the unnatural lines of discomfort around the young features of his face, Lucy's hands went to his length of hair to slowly unbind it and run her fingers through it in easy soothing motions, her voice a gentle hum to drown out the world outside the apartment, "You know my bedroom is a dark, cold cave with a nice firm but soft memory mattress and it's the perfect environment for easing the pain of a killer hangover, developing or otherwise."

Closing his eyes to enjoy the sensation of her nails running over his scalp, he gave a faint nod of his head as response, not wanting to get up and have her stop her ministrations but liking the sound of being in Lucy's bed. He rarely had time for the type of calm warmth the Celestial Light Mage was currently washing over his mind and he wanted to enjoy it for as long as he could.

As she gave him another of her effortless smiles while tracing down his arm to take his hand and lead him to her bedroom, he couldn't help but enjoy the feel of her hand weighing in his and the silent habitual way she walked on the balls of her bare feet like the nymphs and fairies from the bedtime stories their father would tell them as children. She was mystical and enchanting in the way her body moved. The graceful bounce to her gate to the easy sway of her toned hips all the way up to the pale golden glow of her unmistakably warm eyes, the corners of them marked with the permanent smile lines from a lifetime of happy memories and genuine smiles.

He wordlessly let her pull his shirt from his body, finishing when she couldn't reach anymore and chuckling as her hands preoccupied themselves with getting his pants off. She just shot him a cheeky grin from below as she lightly smacked his calf to get him to lift his foot so she could pull the first leg off before moving on to the other leg and going through the same motions.

Standing just a few inches away from Kaleb, Lucy let out a low wolf whistle and teased playfully, "My, my, guildmaster, aren't you a tasty musclebound treat?" Her grin was wolfish to match the hungry gleam in her eye and Kaleb actually felt the blood rush away from his brain straight to his stirring member. Oddly enough, the sensation actually dulled the pain of his head to the point he didn't notice it at all in favor of focusing on keeping somewhat respectable until they had a real conversation about just what they expected from each other. Separately their positions made any relationship they found themselves in harder than most, but the way their positions were connected made their relationship specifically one that would require a great deal of communication. He had never had to have a conversation with anyone about being in a relationship before and he was not looking forward to breaking that winning streak.

A soft hand ran along the sharp angle of his jawline to distract him from himself and he near instantly closed his eyes and leaned into the touch.

"Let's get to sleep before you think yourself to death," was all she spoke as she coaxed him under the incredibly comfortable bedspread after pulling them back and crawling up under herself, her hands itching to feel the bulky muscle that covered his huge frame as she shamelessly looked over every sharply defined part of his physique.

He found himself perfectly at ease with the way she never hid her intentions from anyone and smiled at her deviously innocent thoughts set on exploration and cuddling him well into tomorrow.

XxXxXxXxXxX

In an unfortunate twist of events for the pair of slumbering blondes, the ruthless country of Pergrande had other plans for the following day which is how the two barely had enough time to pack after receiving the call that both were required to attend an emergency war summit to determine whether or not the unchecked attacks on both Iceberg along the northern border and Sin along the southern were enough to warrant action against the powerhouse of a militarized government. Pergrande was a cesspool of roving bands of marauders in the countryside, slavers along the borders and cities run by a harsh caste system and the infamous berserkers of Pergrandes army. It was not Lucy's favorite place to be.

In fact, she was looking forward to the summit aspect since they were holding it in Iceberg's capital Reykjavik and she had never been there herself. The cold had never really been her favorite and the weather throughout Iceberg was harsh and unpredictable at the best of times. It was why the country as a whole mostly ran as independent smaller governments rather than one large centralized one. The Lord in charge of Reykjavik was none other than Lord Kinsley and his family was hosting the summit at their manor.

Thankfully for Lucy and Kaleb alike, Lucy had been called to the summit as Fiore's only ambassador and diplomat available and Kaleb was to be her bodyguard since he was more than qualified for the job and the two were supposed to stay together by order of both their governments as one of the stipulations to keep her in check by someone accountable and responsible. A laughable notion to the Mindbender since he was actually slightly irritated by yet another interruption to get in the way of getting on even footing with the brazen powerhouse of a woman.

He never sulked. He was a grown adult with the understanding that life goes by easier when you don't dwell on the shit that gets handed to you but he was already starting to feel the effects of his magic and they had only been in the air for fourteen hours.

Rubbing circles over his temples as he rolled his shoulders to flex the muscle beneath his full set of armor, Kaleb shook the thought of it in favor of focusing on the reason he was on the ship in the first place. He was unsurprised to hear her softly singing to herself, thoughts only on the melody falling from her lips and the bracing cold breezes occasionally coming to possess her beaded locks of hair and wield the deadly whips against her to pull near maniacal cackles from her. They really should be heading to their cabins since they would arrive tomorrow evening just in time for the opening ceremony. The practical part of him frankly didn't understand the need for such pomp and circumstance when they were dealing with something as serious as declaring war, especially when it was your country and your people at the end of the enemies sword.

But that's why Farron was the son to follow in Arman's footsteps and Kaleb ran the most successfully running guild in Ishgar.

Lucy on the other hand, was having a grand ol' time on the deck of the airship carrying her further into the touch and go country that was Iceberg and it's patches of rolling green hillsides and sharp frozen wastes. It was wild and beautiful, almost enough to make her regret not braving the tempestuous climate on her walk about the continent. Not to mention this was the kind of tough situation she wanted to dive headfirst into for the sake of the innocent Pergrande citizens potentially caught in the crossfire while they held the meeting but the bully of a sham they called government over them which was the root of the cause of all the conflicts Pergrande racked up over the years. The thought of getting to be a mage again made her star-ridden jewels and piercings hum with anticipation. Something that gave her a near overwhelming burst of energy within the limited space of the luxury airship chartered especially for her.

Buzzing with her overcharged magic, she rubbing the backs of her arms before giving the landscape one last fond look and heading back to her room to if Kaleb was up for some friendly light-hearted one-on-one hand-to-hand sparring with a skip to her deft, light-footed steps.

The two met few turns closer to Lucy's side of the ship in a quick exchange as the smaller of the two floated along the swirling carpeted halls, her bare feet dancing along the sweeping patterns as her eyes closed to follow music only she could hear.

Her voice was bright in contrast to the dark clouds blocking out any light the moon was trying to provide them. "Fancy meeting you here, Knight McBodyguard. I was hoping you'd maybe be up for some hand-to-hand," turning around to throw a few quick punches as she continued to effortlessly follow the swirls, "nothing too serious or heavy, I just need to work out some steam or I'll never be able to sleep." Her arms shot out on either side as if she were balancing one hundred feet in the air instead of on the secure craftsmanship of the Boscan airship, Kruphix, and her expectant eyes stayed anchored to his in ways that pulled at the same restless nature he had as a result of his magic that had her wanting to hit something. She was lucky he reveled in the unexpected since he rarely knew the feeling and she was a near constant source of it.

Her energy was infectious as he felt the tendrils of her magic stoke his to life and his blood flooded his muscle enough his wrists started twisting as his hand flexed and fisted to try and quell it until they were standing at her room. Falling back on manners that were more reflexive than consciously done, he waited until she spin around and opened the door herself, making a note of the fact that she hadn't locked her door at all.

Unable to let it slide for longer than the time it took him to follow her as she stretched her arms above her head of unruly, wind-tossed hair and walked into the room far enough for him to shut the door behind him, his voice was deeper than he meant as he admonished her careless behavior, "As the guy in charge of your safety, I would really appreciate it if you actually locked your room when you left. Do you know how much of a rookie mistake that is?"

Her brow furrowed as a genuine bemusement took hold on her distinctly beautiful face. Her hands were tangled in her curls trying to tame them enough to keep them out of her face well enough for the spar she confidently believed was going to happen as she spoke at a slow measured pace. "Uh, no? I didn't? As long as I have the key of whatever I'm trying to open it, my magic will mimic it perfectly and open whatever it is I'm trying to get in to. I've been working on memorizing the way it feels to be able to open any lock but it seemed kind of nefarious so I don't do it very often."

Happy with her answer, Kaleb had to stretch the muscle of his neck to ease the adrenaline pumping through his system to try and at least wait until she was ready before swinging at her. It took a lot of proof on the small woman's part to get him to do full-force close-quarter sparring with her but when she finally did, they went to a ring and had the proper equipment to protect both of them. It was by far one of the most erotic and electrifying experiences of his life.

"Why do I feel like you're some vigilante and I'm just along for the ride?"

She sent him a cheeky wink over her shoulder from where she had turned to face the opposite side of the room to rummage through her bag to find a sports bra. With a cheerful 'ah ha!', she pulled the lightweight hunter green racerback out, loosened the lacing of her usual leather armor enough to slide it down the gilded map of the stars that covered her skin and pull the material of her top over her head to settle over her chest. Having come loose from the tight elastic band, her hair cascaded down her back to sway back and forth from pulling it from where it was trapped.

The scene felt like slow motion for the Mindbender helplessly caught in her mesmerizing actions. He had waited months to be able to figure out the pull he had for her to learn she felt it to and then not be able to do anything about it. His desire only grew hotter and more prevalent as she undid the lacing of her tight leather pants and slide them over her curvy legs, the material so well-made she had to wiggle to get them completely off to reveal a tight pair of black boyshorts. The way the material flexed with the hard-earned muscle of her ass and legs hardly covered her backside and the thickness of her capable thighs had the short hem bunched up before she mindlessly ran her fingers under her underwear turned workout gear to pull them down to a more comfortable level.

Kaleb's armor felt three sized too small as her taloned finger ran across the hard curve of her buttcheek and then room felt at least seventy degrees hotter when her final tug revealed the barest flash of her smooth core. He was going to lose it pretty soon if he didn't get the heavier plates of his pristine black and gold armor off.

Lucy let out an impish chuckle as she bounded across the room, her chest bouncing despite the tight bra meant to hold them down, to chastise him playfully, "Still in all the gear? Tch, what am I gonna do with you," before her deft hands were finding all the buckles and clasps needed to take the complex pieces off so quickly, he was having to try and catch them as they fell towards the floor.

He managed to hold his tongue until her wandering hands started on the buckles and clasps of his thigh plates. There was only so much even a man of his standard could take afterall. "Lucy, I really think we should have a brief discussion before we blur the lines anymore than we already have."

Without stopping her ministrations and unfazed by the close proximity to his hidden hardening length since she hadn't the slightest clue it existed at the moment, her response was through clenched jaw as she worked at a particularly tight buckle near the apex of his hips, "What's there to talk about? We are two consenting adults and I am well aware of the possible repercussions of my decisions."

Giving a bland noise of approval, half in question at the ease of which that went and half by great effort on his part since the back of her hand was just ghosting over the most sensitive part of his body. Closing his eyes and taking a breath, his voice came out tight for a whole other reason than Lucy's, "Are you sure you're really taking everything into account?"

"Pfft, I thought we already had this discussion. I mean, I know we don't have the gloves or the mouth guards like last time but I have wraps and your a big brawny tough guy who can take a punch. I highly doubt you'll hurt me."

Funny she should mention his ability to take a punch because her words felt like one straight to his gut. She was talking about the fight and he was talking about starting something with her at the base level that he needed a physical relationship as soon as possible or he would completely lose every working brain cell he had.

Feeling the last of his armor fall free, he opened his eyes to see the Celestial beauty ogling him in the tight black sleeveless shirt and leggings he wore under his armor with her hand on her cocked hip, she saucily tossed to no one in particular, "Though I sure wouldn't mind if you tried, huney."

"We are not on the same page fatina. I'm not talking about fighting," was his velvety deep response as recognition lit in her golden eyes and he stood amazed as they flared with desire enough to rival his own, her stance dropping into one he had never seen her use, one that almost looked like a form of taekwondo.

The husky, smokey tone of her voice served to spark a unquenchable thirst in the older mage to find out how she sounded in the throes of her climax. "I've been looking forward to finishing this conversation so much, I already know exactly what I want to say," she started bouncing from foot to foot in a impatient show before licking her lips and speaking frankly, "I haven't hidden my attraction to you from the beginning but as you are aware, Fiore has a very traditionalist view on the sort of relations I want to have with you and I've thought about it a lot."

A beat that felt like it dragged for hours passed before her posture relaxed a little and her smile grew more affectionate than coy, her voice still holding that smokey tinge that made his knees tremble in a wave of a different kind of attraction he never felt before. "When I was with Fare, all I could think about was how much I needed a release for the build up of everyday and the only thing that made it fractionally better was you. I don't think I could ever get enough of being near you."

In a rare moment of vulnerability, a blush spread across her face as she added quietly, "I haven't been able to sleep with anyone in months and I'm dying a little bit. Especially since you're so frustratingly perfect in every way."

Her head had lowered to count the individual strands of the plush carpet that ran throughout her little suite until she heard Kaleb move towards her and her head snapped up just in time to be caught, utterly and irrevocably caught by the Wizard Saint. He was cupping either side of her face making her feel deliciously out of control as his mouth met hers in a surprisingly slow, passionate kiss that had her grasping at the clothes covering his sides.

Just in time to leave her breathless and pleasantly off-kilter, his voice washed through her like a sip of aged bourbon, "I have so much to tell you, fatina," before his lips and hands moved lower to burn trails across her skin, "but for now, let me show you how much I've wanted you."

The feel of his fingers under her top sent chills down her spine as she pulled the top from her frame completely before tugging at the hem of his undershirt.

He let her work the tight material for as long as he could before he had to pull back from where he had been sucking on the patch of skin just off the hollow of her throat to peel the shirt off completely with a simple tug before his hands were wrapping around her hips, his thumbs teasing the curve of her back before sliding the last bit of clothing from her downright sinful body to leave her bare, every scar, freckle and piercing on display for him.

Needing relief from the ache in his pants, he cupped himself over his clothing. The action pulled a low moan from his lips as he watched her follow his lead and pull the waist of both his remaining layers down, bending at the waist to put her ass on display in a coy move that had his cock twitching, pre-cum beaded at the tip of his length.

Another throaty moan escaped his throat as her featherlight touch teased at the sensitive skin of his head with slick pad of thumb, her other hand wrapping around his base to test the waters of what grip he seemed to like to best.

"Will you please hold my hair back? I don't really want anything to get in my way and you're a lot of man to play with."

Her sultry tone and the breath dancing over the wet skin had another tremor radiating from his knees as he carefully held her length of hair in one of his hands and focused on staying upright while she was ducked her head to run her tongue along the base of his throbbing cock all the way to the tip only to stop and swirl under the tip in teasing flicks.

Lucy gave him a few seconds of relief from her teasing while she pulled away to lick her lips before swallowing and giving him a wink. The feel of her perfect pout wrapped around his cock as she started a slow, easy pace to take him inch by inch, her tongue making passes in time with her steady bobbing, made him feel like he was somehow blessed by the goddess worshipping at his feet with the rare gift of catching her attention. The feel of her low hum vibrating from where he was grazing the back of her throat resonated all the way through to his core forcing his grip on her hair to tighten in response to earn a muffled moan from the blonde at the rough treatment.

Somehow he knew without a doubt that he would never hear anything more extraordinary than the myriad of sound he would pull from her tonight and the thought grew into a near impossible itch to start right in that moment. He could honestly say he had never felt pleasure this mind-numbing from any of the trained Boscans he's had in his life but he was desperate to taste her swollen lips, even if that meant pulling her up and away from him to get her on the bed.

Catching her before she start another of her slow descents to sheathe him completely in her mouth, he was a little startled by her compliance to his sudden release of her hair in favor of pulling her upright and cradling the base of her neck to expose her neck. An airy melodic sigh from her pliant frame filled him with fresh fire as he lifted her to his chest, her legs anchored low around his hips to keep her drenched core pressed against the slick of his cock to keep him climber higher in to ecstasy.

Snaking a hand around the back of her knee to brace her to him as he sat on the edge of her bed, she effortlessly used her other leg to raise her body to align herself with him just as his tongue teased at one of her pierced rosy buds in languid circles before he flicked at it playfully. Her breathing hitched as a flash of carnal need clenched her walls just in time for her to drop her weight on his member.

Her neck craned back at the delightful feeling of being stretched so tightly around him but Kaleb remained unsatisfied with lull in friction. He craved her in an all-consuming way that had his vision going white with arousal and his thoughts solely focused on making her reach a peak so high, the crash will leave her wanting more of something only he could give her.

Flipping the two over so she was on the flat of her back, he heard her wanton whimpers before her voice slithered over the shell of his ear, breathy and tight, as her heavy-lidded eyes blinked up at him, "Wait, I want you to take me from behind. Let me get ready for you."

It was all he could do to let her up enough to flip over but he was incredibly thankful he complied to her request. The unbidden view of her glistening center nestled beneath her the taut muscle of her ass had him questioning just what was stopping him from taking her sooner.

Running his palms over the smooth curve of her backside, he pulled her apart just enough to make her lift her hips higher to run the tip of his cock along her lips to pull a keening impatient cry from her. The noise wearing away the last bit of restraint the insatiable man had in him before plunging as deep into her depths as he could, pulling nearly completely from her and repeating the motion.

Each stroke sent a warmth through her senses, setting a wildfire off from low in her abdomen to pull his name from her first in hushed, near silent pleas like prayers but as his thrusts grew harder, sharper, so did her pleas until she was practically screaming his name loud enough to make her throat raw.

He didn't know how long they kept building their pleasure but in an instant, her walls clamped down around him in wave after wave to try and get him to stop moving but his own release was on the cusp of crashing through them so he kept pumping in and out of her until her cries grew desperate and choppy, her motions jerky as she tried to ride out the rapturous euphoria they were currently suspended in.

More than just their bodies natural reaction to each other was taking placing in those timeless moments of blinding pleasure. Not only had Lucy's magic tangled with his so thoroughly and completely that there would always be remnants of it in the Wizard Saint's but her golden soul recognized Kaleb's as it's perfect match.

Lucy had unknowingly found her soulmate in the second oldest Pradesh.

Of course she was just trying to keep from collapsing completely from how little energy she had left in her limbs after such an amazing round of sex. She was still trying to get functionality back into her body when the heel of Kaleb's palm worked up the sharp angle of her back to ease her from him and help her turn over.

One arm was laying over her ribs while the other stretched lazily above her head before her eyes met his and her hands immediately moved to take his hair from the half-tail he put his platinum length of hair in and run her fingers along his scalp as she hummed contentedly up at him.

She was sure the wide smile pulling at his lips would start to hurt soon when he finally braced his weight on his elbow and forearm to take her lips in an unhurried, exploratory kiss, his tongue darting along her lips as if he was mapping the curve of them.

Lucy couldn't remember the last time she made out with another human but the tender way his hand traced over the planes of her body and the fact the he was hands down the best kisser she ever had the pleasure of coming across had her feeling the lost thrill of a real spark.

With every intention of telling Kaleb how much she wanted to see where this could go, even going so boldly as to wanting the security of monogamy between them. For the first time in a long time, she wanted someone to walk alongside her and he earned the trust she had no excuse to keep from him.

But she was worried he might misconstrue her as the controlling type seeing as how he was Boscan and they had an incredibly lax position on sexuality and relationships.

Thankful for his Mindreader magic and the fact that she didn't need to say anything for him to understand, his voice was reassuring as he soothed over her mildly anxious thoughts with every kiss across the freckles of her face, "I'm yours, fatina, don't worry. Whatever you need from me, it's all yours."

The devotion dripping from his words made her chest heave from the physical impact they had within her. Her arms wound around his neck in an embrace meant to show him how much his honest whispered admission resonated within her as she peppered his temple with what felt like hundreds of pecks. It was all she could manage as he held her until the emotion ebbed into a soft sense of security and wonder.

Being the gentleman he was, he pulled from her to press another lingering kiss to the ends of Aquarius' constellation just above her temple to let her know he would be right back after he cleaned up.

The happily spent blonde gave drawn nods to the handsome mage as she stayed spread across the dirty bedspread, the position stirring his appetite once more before he disappeared into her private bathroom.

By the time he finished, she had fallen into a light sleep in the exact position he left her in which gave him the perfect opportunity really taste his personal goddess but her sleep-ridden voice sounded before he could put all his weight on the mattress.

"Come sleep for a few hours, beefcake."

His rich laughter filled her as a goofy crooked grin formed on her still-swollen lips as he moved to lay next to her on his back. His velvety voice was teasing as she shimmied her way back on top of his build chest to lay her head in the dip of his shoulder, "I think that's the first time someone's called me that."

Her indignant scoff was followed with an easy, "Maybe to your face, guildmaster."

Shaking his head at her sure statement, he traced patterns of the bob-tailed panther he himself had tattooed into his body to show his Clan Lukera origins over the supple skin of her back, sending goosebumps across the surface of her body.

It wasn't long before the lullaby she was humming under her breath sent them into a deep sleep. The heavy weight of his arm on her back as he shamelessly palmed her ass made her breathe out one last dreamy sigh before succumbing to the black blurring the edges of her mind.

Sometime between the two falling asleep the first time and the the sun coming up, Kaleb had woken from a very stimulating dream about Lucy and just couldn't stop himself from trying to finish out scene to the end which was how Lucy woke up to find his glorious head of white-blond hair buried between her legs, tongue fucking her so expertly that she managed to actually wake up just in time to ride out the uncontrollable waves of another orgasm.

Not ready to quit after the toe-curling climax and unwilling to be bested by her personal adonis, her leg settled up over his shoulder as she twisted her hips to the side and pulled him up with enough force to have him take her in a rough motion that had her nearly in tears at the deep angle their position produced.

By the time she hit her fourth orgasm, she felt like putty in Kaleb's capable hands with plenty of time before landing to get another solid block of sleep cuddled with her extremely diligent bodyguard and the only thought on Kaleb's mind was enjoying these moments of peace with his brilliant woman before all hell broke loose at Lord Kinsley's summit.


	5. Concede- Laxus/Kaleb Excerpt from Steps

Concede- Laxus/Kaleb Scene from the Steps Universe

Laxus Dreyar had been guildmaster of Fairy Tail for less than a year and with Lucy's continued efforts in taming the pink-headed ticking time bomb that was the Fire Dragon, Erza's own unique brand of crazy and while he held no real issue with Gray, the Devil Slayer had a tendency to get caught up in Natsu's destructive warpath, Fairy Tail had started building a name for themselves based around there reliability and variety of high quality mages instead of their destructive nature and tendency to attract the wrong kind of attention. Granted, the original Team Natsu rarely went on missions just the four (five if you counted Happy which Laxus did not) of them now that they all pretty much bounced around from team to team, guildmate to guildmate depending on the job. He was adamant when he took over as Master they start working with a variety of magics to keep improving and work on broadening their compatibility with other mages no matter how unlikely they seemed to work together. He wanted adaptability and flexibility in Fairy Tail so that no matter who was where, they could get the job done.

He was proud to watch his little sister take the empty spot of S-Class mage and Dragon Slayer in his own team when he couldn't get out of master bullshit he had to get done. It was a process when they returned from Joya for the rest of their nakama to accept that Lucy was the Celestial Dragon Slayer, already mated to Bickslow and well on the way to becoming permanently star-married or what the fuck ever was going between she and Zen but Magnolia as a whole has become numb to all the weird goings on inside his guild and quite frankly those two dorks were annoyingly made for eachother. Between Bickslow's incurable, aggressive sense of humor and the creativity and intelligence Lucy brought to the table, there was never a moment where the laughter died down around them. Even he couldn't deny how happy they made each other.

From where he was sitting in the private cabin on the overnight train to Crocus across from all three of them, it was so sickeningly sweet his stomach started turning all over again even though Wendy's flawless troia prevented all the motion sickness from the side effects of both he and Lucy's Dragon Slaying magic. Zen must have gotten a pass from Draco for the train ride since there wouldn't be any real risk of him having to deal with the public and the admittedly massive Archangel Mage was taking advantage of it by acting as one end of a Lucy sandwich with her tucked sideways beneath his arm using the bulked appendage as a cuddle-toy and his bicep specifically as a pillow while his hand shamelessly dipped just below the waistband of her favorite pair of wide legged cotton pants. The other half her matching Pradesh set had long-since fallen asleep on Zen's shoulder just above Lucy's mess of blonde hair with her legs curled in his lap as his arm wrapped around her to keep her from falling off his lap and his babies were scattered and tucked into random crevices here and there. It stirred his dragon with the simplicity of their relationship despite it being the most convoluted thing ever.

Letting out a low groan at the redundancy of his dragon's near constant barrage about mating, his fingernails raked across his scalp out of frustration with it all. As a person, he never really had desire for a wife and kids, he didn't want to settle down behind a white picket fence and he definitely didn't want to put anything more on his plate than he was already in the midst of handling. The whole reason he and Lucy were even on this train was to answer an emergency summons from the Magic Council while the two blondes were in the midst of trying to get Gramps' lumpy brick of a couch out of Laxus' new office through a doorway that was definitely not wide enough to promote their success in . He really didn't know how he got saddled with Bickslow and Zen.

His ire must have been just loud enough to wake his little sister from her slumber as she let out a yawn and called to him sleepily, "You okay, Sparkles?"

The corner of his grimace broke as it lifted into a smirk with the concern she had for him even half-conscious and smashed into what looked like the most uncomfortable mangle of body parts he's seen in a while. "Just fine, Blondie. Go back to sleep."

Her head turned back to rub her cheek back into her makeshift pillow to get comfortable before she let out a huff and tried her best to turn herself towards him but only managed to twist her torso free as she half-glared at him from below her heavy eyelids.

Laxus stared at her expectantly with his arms crossed over his chest since she undoubtedly had something she wanted to say by the slight furrow in her brow and tight-lipped expression currently boring into him like she could glare the words into his brain and he would just magically know why she was upset with him this time.

Right as he was about concede to the little blondes ridiculously childish antics, she let out a tired sigh to mark her own concession before a small smile pulled at her lips and it made him bristle at the unreadable emotion behind it. Her voice was soft as her eyes dropped to where she had mindlessly started playing with Bickslow's fingers, "It's not so bad, you know, being mated. It wouldn't kill you to at least think about it as a possibility."

He evidently needed to spend a little less time with Lucy if he was becoming this easy for her to read. It wasn't that he was opposed to having a mate or didn't want to be mated, he just didn't know what the fuck to do about the fact that every time someone said the word within earshot of him, his brain flashed with images of white blonde hair and lavender eyes, strings of random nothings in the soothing rich tone of his voice and flashes of the now unrepressed memories of the night stuck in the effects of Cristoff's moon bullshit except every body he happened to be inside of that night somehow became Kaleb's thanks to the reflex of his brain.

The whole thing was almost like watching a movie except he was living out the role of sexfiend predator with tunnel-vision that ended up with him inside a multitude of people both female and male. Something that wouldn't really bother him if it hadn't been for the fact that one of those people happened to have a build similar to Kaleb's bulky frame and now his brain had all the tools it needed to vividly imagine realistic sex with his fellow guildmaster. Every single time someone mentioned mating. Not only that but he had absolutely no reaction to any other soul as far as arousal went which meant he was going on months without so much as a twitch from his dick until his rated-x daydreams came into the mix.

He was getting really tired of being held at the whims of his own passing thoughts.

Taking in a breath that raised his chest enough to force him to readjust his shoulders before letting it go in a huff, he made his own reluctant concession as he leaned forward to put his elbows on his knees and rub his face in his hands with a tired drawl to his words, "I have no goddamned clue how to do this." 'This' being initiating an honest to gods relationship with romantic entanglements to someone like Kaleb.

He missed the way her eyes widened at the crack of an opening into his feelings and ready to seize the rare opportunity to weasel her way in like she always did when these fleeting moments came but he knew there was no going back with the way her voice seemed suddenly very alert and holding none of her previous drowsiness. "I think you should probably start by telling him you're a dense moron whose bad at being a real boy with real feelings."

Rolling his steely eyes as his back straightened and stretched as if to say he was so uncomfortable talking about this that he physically felt the awkwardness like a weight on his body and he needed to shake it from him in order to continue, he missed the masculine pronoun use on her part because unbeknownst to him, everyone that went to Joya had bets on how long it would take him to realize that Kaleb was absolutely perfect for him and they would finally be the power couple dream team they all (mostly Lucy and Vander) knew them to be. He was far too caught up in the fact that he would have to make a thing of the whole scene to notice as he gruffed out under his breath, "You aren't being very helpful right now."

She had to bite back her giggles before soothing his nerves with her easy lilting voice and reassuring words, "You won't be nearly as bad as you think you'll be, brother dearest. Why don't you think about how you feel when you're with him first? How is it different from everyone else?" Lucy was a little worried her words were come across as condescending to the testy Lightning Slayer but knew that even before she got her dragon soul, being with Bickslow was effortless and special. Unless she had been dazed for every single encounter between the two men, Laxus had the same type of connection to the White Sea's Guildmaster without him having to think about it.

For the first time since the urge to obsess over the Mindbender started Laxus gave into the pull the beautiful blond unknowingly had on his thoughts and let go of his vice like control on bottling it up instead of dealing with it. The instant he dropped his guard and let himself have time to process his feelings, he felt an unwelcome wave of uncertainty spread through the entirety of his being before it settled completely and he was left to the stark realization that he was in pretty deep already and this was after months of absolutely no contact with the older Pradesh.

"I already hate this." It was mumbled and filled with exhaustion and while his words were accurate, they weren't true in the way it initially came off the Celestial Slayer. No, Laxus without a doubt hated the fact that he was mated to Kaleb solely for the reason that both he and the Wizard Saint of a whole other country lived very hectic and very busy lives thousands of miles apart and it would make their relationship ten times harder than he would already make it. He couldn't just have an easily accessible mate like Lucy.

"You have plenty of time to get used to the idea. It's not like you visit Bosco every other day to run into him out of the blue," was all she offered with a light chuckle as her attention was pulled away from him by the smallest of Bickslow's babies and by far the most attached to the Celestial Slayer.

It wasn't the idea he needed time to get used to, it was the fact that finer details of their relationship would be pain in his ass but her reasoning was sound so he took the last few hours of the train ride to let the fact he had a mate and that mate was the same man he used to hit the bars with in his time away from Fairy Tail in the hopes of finding someone to spend the night with.

The older blond thought it irritatingly convenient how that all worked out.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Upon landing in the capital, Laxus couldn't shake the looming feeling of dread growing darker the closer they moved towards the castle but he was swiftly swept up in the conversation Lucy and Bickslow were currently hashing out about the problem couch of a thorn in her side still managing to worm its way further into his sister's sanity.

"I don't see why you can't just take it out the window if it doesn't fit through the door, I mean, he had to get the thing in the room somehow, right." The Seith Mages words were casual as his hands braced the back of his visor-covered head while he kept his measured gate on pace with his mates smaller legs.

Opening her mouth to counter the ridiculous idea, Laxus watched in amusement as her face twisted into deep thought to run the scenario in her head before giving a firm nod of her head, her voice distracted as the thoughts kept stringing along behind her discerning eyes, "That could actually work if you use the one beside those bookshelves."

Nodding his head along with their insane plan, he offered the two offhandedly, "And neither of you are worried about the thirty foot drop from my office to the ground?"

Clapping his back with jovial force, the Seith wrapped his arm around his best friends shoulders to answer with mirthful ease, "That's why we have you and the other muscle heads. You guys can just catch it on the way down. It'll be a team building exercise for you Slayers."

"Ah, right. How could I have forgotten that shining prime example of a good idea," was all the gruff slayer spoke as he shook his head of the mental image of that ancient horrible excuse of a couch just bursting into pieces upon impact from a drop of that height. His mood drastically improving as the two pulled hearty chuckles out of him from their usual playful antics.

XxXxXxX

He knew before they stepped foot into the Council's meeting hall that the reason he had been dragging his feet to come here were because the odds of him running into the Mindbender out of blue were astronomically small and yet here the scene was playing out like the Celestial Slayer had somehow picked up some of the Oracle's Divinity magic in her downtime.

Lagging behind just a fraction to look up and send silent threats to whoever was listening, hoping they were happy fucking with him up where they were safe and unseen. Laxus cracked his neck to brace himself for the disaster he was about to handle at seeing Kaleb for the first time after so long without being around the incredibly good-looking, attractive mage with his own social ineptitude hindering the usually easy relationship they had now that he decidedly wanted to see the powerful Wizard Saint on his knees with his cock down his throat.

Or at least that's what he thought would happen when he turned the corner to come literally chest to chest with man all his thoughts seemed to circle back to and he looked really fucking good in the impressive set of heavy black and gold armor framing his broad body. No, instead he was left frozen when the Boscan wrapped a hand around the back of his neck while the other braced his elbow, both acting together to pull him towards the smiling Mindbender to bring their foreheads together as his eyes closed and the hand on the back of his head massaged every ounce of tension from his body.

"I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to come around."

It was simple and hushed but it somehow told the Lightning Slayer that he knew; he understood everything he was going through, what he was putting himself through and Laxus let the spark of hope that they could make it work somehow grow into a wildfire of confidence he was most at ease in.

As a crooked smirk lifted the Lightning Mage's lips, he found himself mirroring Kaleb's surprisingly forward greeting with a light-hearted response that had both Lucy and Bickslow's brows hit their hairlines at eating the public scene of affection up like addicts getting the sweet release of their drug of choice after too long without.

"Yeah, sorry about that," the hand resting on the back of Kaleb's elbow moved lower to get whatever purchase he could with the way his armor was layered over his hips to bring their bodies close before tilting his chin enough to force the grinning platinum blond to move his chin and line their lips up a hair's breadth away from each other, "I probably should have called."

They ignored the fangirlish squeal from Bickslow as Lucy hooted and yelled, "Fucking get some, bro!" Just like they had been ignoring the room full of people trying to have a serious meeting about a Dark Guild that recently made its way to the Fioran side of the border it shared with Bosco as Kaleb felt the last of Laxus' self-made defenses fall and waited for him to make the move he had apparently been thinking about doing a lot more often than he let off.

And he was glad he did. Gone was the reluctant, barely cooperative man in denial from when they parted ways in Joya, replaced by the near arrogant smug bastard whose presence demanded attention and respect that had him trying to resist his own urge to just close what seemed like an ocean of space between.

He never got the chance to as Laxus' tangled grip in his hair tightened and brought their lips together in a hard kiss that really tested the waters for the Lightning Slayer.

It would probably take some getting used to and feeling out but the way Kaleb's long hair felt wrapped around his hand and how good his soft lips felt moving against his own left little room for any worry to sprout from him.

Being a Dragon Slayer had never been something he built his life or reputation around so he and his dragon lived in mutual neutrality until the sudden urge to shack up and mate took hold and he had do deal with fighting for control every waking moment of the day but from the moment the Mindbender touched his skin, it was like his dragon was finally at ease and he could take a breath without having to fight tooth and nail for it. Something he would forever be thankful for.

The jarring sound of a throaty exaggerated throat clear from the Head of the Magic Council pulled the two behemoth blonds apart as Laxus responded with an instinctual low growl of annoyance from between his clenched fanged teeth that made the wiry man jump back before Kaleb's easy voice was placating the room while simultaneously leading the group of Fairies to their seats, "And now we have the last of us here and we can finally begin solving the real problem," to effortlessly lead the focus of the room back to the Dark Guild running from Boscan authority to seek refuge in Fiore and come up with a mutually agreed upon way of dispatching them while Lucy and Bickslow tried and failed at containing their giggles over every stray touch between the two guildmasters.

XxXxXxXxXxX

After finally agreeing that Kaleb and his men with the company of Laxus, Lucy and Bickslow, would see to apprehending the guild and getting them back into Bosco for them to take care of how they saw fit, Lucy left Bickslow and Laxus to Kaleb's company while she gate-hopped back to Magnolia to get what little they would need for the week long job and to tell both Erza and Mira what was going on.

Unfortunately for Lucy, the moment she opened her gate to some back Natsu had timed a jump perfectly to latch onto her as she fell through to land in a toppled heap in the middle of Kaleb's suite in the castle, her irritation coming off her in waves as she started smacking random parts of the pinkette's body, whatever parts available as he tried to keep his laughter in check, "What in the actual blue blazes do you think you're doing, you baka! I could have cut you in half! Do you know how traumatizing that would be for me?!"

The Fire Slayer's rich whine sounded from behind his arms where he was trying to protect his face from her onslaught, "But Luuuuuce, I'm bored and you promised the next mission you went on would be with me."

Freezing mid-swing at the realization that she had in fact promised him they would be together for the next mission, her mood instantly flipped as she brushed off the loose material of her pants after standing to offer her best friend a hand up with a bright smile on her face, "It has been a while since went on a job together and we can keep count of how many dark mages we take out to see which of us is better."

Laxus watched with horror as Natsu's fist pumped in the air before lazily throwing his arm around her shoulders with an excited gleam in his eyes, "Hah! I'll kick your newbie dragon butt before you even get one."

The two continued their good-natured banter as Laxus rubbed his palm across his lips before grumbling from his place next to Kaleb as Bickslow, Cristoff and Zen watched the exchange with varying expressions of amusement at the pair of scuffling dragons. "Fantastic, now I'll have to worry about keeping him out of trouble in Bosco."

Giving the Lightning Slayer's shoulder a squeeze after trailing his hand along the hard planes of his back, the smooth timbre of his mates voice pulled the first of his involuntary purrs from deep in his chest to draw looks of surprise from every one save Kaleb who just let smug victory take hold in his chiseled angelic features. "I've missed your blinding pessimism, Laxus."

Now that he had taken off the layers of his heavy armor to leave him in a tight black sleeveless top and matching legging-like underguards, the plates of black and gold from his thighs down still on, the Lightning Mage gave into the urge to snake his arm around his mates waist and let a cocky grin take hold on his face aimed directly at the seasoned Boscan, "You've never spent time with Natsu if you think that was me being pessimistic about him tagging along."

With his hands laced together on the back of his head of unruly hair now that Lucy had managed to wrestle him down and get at least some of the pair's endless pools of energy worked out, Natsu's voice was casual as his attention moved to finding something to eat in Kaleb's room, "Too bad for you, Laxus. Luce made a promise so if she's on the mission, I'm on the mission."

His guildmaster just gave him a deadpanned unreadable look before his hard gaze found his little sister's and he spoke plainly with little room for argument in his stance, "Easy enough then. Blondie, go the fuck home and take Flamebrain with you," before turning back to the map laid out in front of them and missing the dumbfounded look of shock etched into Lucy's face from where she had been innocently playing with the babies.

Cristoff choked back his own laughter before teasing, "Don't you think that's a little harsh there, Sparkles?"

Unfazed by the Lunar Slayer's words, he kept his steel-blue eyes on the trailing lines of roads as his fingers dug into the hard muscle covering Kaleb's hip, "No, I think I'm saving myself a week of headaches and a shit ton of paperwork."

A beat of silence echoed through the mages before Bickslow let out a yawn and gave Cristoff's cheek a few grandmotherly pats, his voice it's usual playful baritone, "Well, it was nice seeing you, little bro. Take care of yourself and tell dad I love him and miss him and don't work yourself too hard."

In a flash, there was a small blonde woman between them before she wrapped her arms around Cris' midsection to get her bear hug in before she had to leave. "Be safe out there, Charming," was all she got out before his huge arms lifted her up in her favorite type of hug from the Lunar Slayer; the barely able to breathe cuddly love hug that made you feel like the most important person on the planet.

The raven-haired Pradesh's genuine words were lost in her hair, "Just for you, Princess," before he put her down and gave her a shove towards his waiting older brother, a wide smile on his face at seeing them still so in love after everything they've been through.

Not long after Natsu, Bickslow and Lucy departed from Crocus via her gate-hopping Cristoff realized that he was about to be the third wheel on a week-long mission on the road with Laxus and Kaleb, newly established mated pair bound to be sexually charged and eager to get it on. He was just glad he could put the two to sleep like he had when he was on cockblock babysitting duty with Bix and Lucy as he watched the blond couple come together in a strikingly different way than he watched his draconian-sibling embrace the wild ride that was being a Dragon Slayer and having a mating process.

The attitude and general aura about the Lightning Mage now as he relaxed into natural conversation about the finer details of traveling together with a grin quirking his lips up and a strand of Kaleb's unnaturally platinum hair twisting around his hand was in drastic contrast to the stoic, serious leader-role he had to play in Joya.

The relief that his family was growing and his brothers were slowly earning their happy endings gave him incredible amounts of faith that he would find his as well. If Laxus can get over his own idiocy and accept Kaleb enough to makeout with him in the middle of diplomatic meeting then surely the fates would give him his soon enough.


	6. Particular- Squinty CrisLu Fluffy VanLu

Particular- Squinty CrisLu Fluffy VanLu

(Honestly, I am in the FLUFFIEST mood ever)

Vander Pradesh had been listening to the impressive goings on in the hotel room next to his since his own company for the night left with wobbly legged satisfaction in the middle of the night and he had to say, he was quickly becoming obsessed with the impressive slow build of sounds that started out as sweet, breathy symphonies before it built into a crescendo of intensity to pull a cacophony of rasped cries and husky moans from whoever had landed in between Cristoff's sheets.

A loud thud marked the moment one of the two, his brother by the sound of it, hitting the wall directly behind his head of newly christened honey wheat length of hair to mark yet another round of raucous sex for the duo to pull a grin wider than the Grass Sea from the young Pradesh. It was always nice to hear his family getting taken care of by someone with such endurance and enthusiasm with a lung capacity to rival professional divers. He even caught himself with curiosity enough to almost meld into his shadows and watch the pair just to have visuals to go hand in hand with the sinful audio he'd been thoroughly enjoying for hours to instead let the soothing sounds of pleasure carry him into a dreamless sleep, a rare gift he valued almost more so than his immense understanding of the human body and all the different ways to tweak and play with masterful ability.

When he woke the next morning, the Lunar Slayer and his lucky lady for the night had already went there separate ways but Cristoff's mood for the day seemed even more elated than usual which was a feat for his empathetic, easy-going teddy bear of a brother. Sending earnest silent thanks to the spitfire that was without a doubt the root of the goofy smile on his face, Vander went on with his life without giving another thought to the woman.

That is until he was on a less than savory mission he managed to save for the two men Grenlow had sent before his skills were required though they seemed hardly happy to see him when he freed them of their magic-cancelling bindings and left them with a snarky comment on how much the old grouch would love them cooperating for once to take the cell of well-trained assassins holed up just outside the Pelerno.

He had been methodically going through to take the three men and two women out when he heard the distinct ring of her voice crying out after the crack of a whip. A wave of adrenaline rushed his veins when it was clear the woman was having a drastically different reason for the melodious voice he could recall with perfectly clarity to have the hard edges of pain to cut through her throat like razor blades.

Without hesitation, the Shadowquip raced through the rest of the warehouse to find the last of his targets had chained the vivacious blonde by her wrists and suspended her just high enough that she needed to balance on her toes to keep from dislocating her shoulders and impressively enough, she seemed to be doing so with little effort despite the crimson stream of blood running from a cut across her right eyebrow all the way across the corner of her sharp, focused gaze to disappear into a tangle of blood-stained blonde hair chopped off in uneven chunks above her shoulders.

Even more impressive than her ability to keep all her weight perfectly centered on the mangled sorry state her feet were in was the cutting, unyielding fire she spewed from her mouth in the form of wildly inappropriate sarcasm after she spit out a bloody mix of spit from between the swollen lips of her once perfect cupid's bow.

"It's a shame you won't live to see what my whip can do in capable hands. A tragedy really."

The stunted man's grip tightened on the deadly weapon as he surged forward with the intention of dropping the whip entirely to swing his rapidly growing fist towards her small but smugly smirking face. Something he would commend at a time when he wasn't slashing the throat of a sloppy greenhorn passing as a professional killer.

By the time his sputtering frame sunk to the floor, eyes bulging as he choked on his own blood, the mixture of chemicals and endorphins keeping her upright started wearing off as she swayed and caught herself in a sloppy motion.

His shadowmade dagger cut through the steel of her chain bindings to release her body into his waiting arms and he realized she was in far worse shape than she let off. The remnants of her clothes were in shreds barely covering her ample chest while her skirt hung onto her wide hips for dear life as the wounds from her sadistic captor started adding up the more he looked over the blonde.

Just before her eyes shut, finally able to rest after enduring her torture for days, her voice came through the steady hitch in her breath that had him worried that her lungs had taken damage, "...about time...you left...the shadows…," before a pained look crossed the puffed features of her face and passing out to have a blank expression replace the twisted, unwelcome look.

Just as he lifted her body with a gentle care, wary of the unseen injuries she more than likely had, Vander heard the lax footsteps of his fellow comrades and explain in brief curt words that they would need to head back to Grenlow and explain what happened before stepping into the void to take the woman to Cristoff. If anyone could heal the damage riddling her resilient body, it was the Lunar Slayer and his powerful magic.

Which is where he left the woman to recover while he went back to the warehouse to try and figure out just what the fuck this particular woman was doing on the outskirts of Pelerno when the last he heard her voice was on a trip to the capital of Fiore and that was quite a hike from here.

He spent hours going over every nook and cranny of the nondescript warehouse and was left with absolutely no explanation on either of his conundrums; the second being his original mission to find the target or targets of the little band of hired assassins.

Scratching his jaw in an absent gesture after picking through the plain black clothes of his unfortunate victims and finding nothing but a half-used tube of chapstick and a pouch of what smelled like a sleep powder he had only seen on his trips to the shadier black markets of Sin. The wild country famous for its piracy and rugged geography has been known to spit out less than savory people more often than not.

The option he had left was to wait until the blonde woke up to explain for herself and he had plenty to keep him busy until then.

XxXxXxXxX

From where he was lounged across the cool material of his brother's couch trying to throw the smooth decorative stones of the hand-blown glass bowl-ish creation from one of their trips to Minstrel at the random knick-knacks Cristoff liked to collect, he could hear the easy timbre of his brothers voice respond to the lilting tone of their temporary charge which was a relief since she had been lights out for four days and Grenlow was starting to get bitchy about the amount of time it was taking for him to come up with information that actually progressed the stand-still they were currently forced into.

It didn't faze the Shadowquip any but he preferred to keep the ornery man off his fine ass and as far away from his persons as he could get. The two had a history and it made for tension between them in ways that amused the prodigal son of Bosco's military and grated the ex-guildmaster without fail.

Before he could too lost in reminiscing, Cristoff's bulkier build poked out from his spare bedroom with his usual soothing presence emanating out to ease the tension his body naturally carried after spending too much time in the void. "You'll be pleased to know Lucy's been asking for you, little bro."

Unable to stop himself, his brow raised as a devious smirk took hold on his face. "I'm always pleased to know my names on the lips of beautiful women, especially when it's in favor of yours, moonbeam," before flicking the last of his makeshift ammo directly at the center of Cristoff's forehead and hitting the mark with a grunt of pain.

The Lunar Slayer rolled his deep sapphire eyes as he immediately rubbed the affected area to soothe the welt before it got too big. "Behave, please. This particular Lucy belongs to Bickslow's guild, or at least she did the last time I saw her. Her mark's gone and she keeps changing the subject when I try to get her to talk to about it." With a shrug and a wide gesture, the tall raven-haired Pradesh motioned for his younger brother to go ahead in while he made a very awkward call to the guildmaster of Fairy Tail. Maybe Laxus would be a little more open about just what the Celestial Mage was doing all the way in Bosco without her little pink guildmark.

When Vander first entered the room, the first thing he noticed was the messy tousled waves of her clean golden hair cut in an chin-length bob to fix the hack job her captures gave her. The top half was tied back from her pretty heart-shaped face and he was glad to see she held only the faint white line of a barely noticeable scar where she had taken the sharp tip of her whip over her eye to leave a tiny gap in the end of her brow. He had a perfect view of her profile as she daydreamed with a distracted smile on her face lifted towards the sunlight shining uninhibited through the solid panes of glass that filled most of the room.

He had to blink to make sure the glow coming off her toned frame was actually coming from the sun and not shining out from her creamy skin.

Sensing his presence, the full force of her being was directed at where he was leaned casually in the doorframe a good fifteen feet from where she was sitting upright with a set of very unique Canis Minor pajamas he knew hadn't come from Cristoff. Her voice was bubbly and bright as she hit him with a magnetic smile filled to the brim with gratitude. "You finally came to visit me."

"I've been visiting you every night, sunshine. You're the hard to pin one here," was his easy response as he pushed off the wall to fill the chair he and Cris had been taking turns in while they waited for her to wake up.

The melody of her carefree laughter sounded as her eyes wrinkled with mirth before she spoke through the last of it, "Says the man who found me chained to a pipe as I lay on bedrest."

He gave a few conceding nods of his head before pushing the loose strands of his ombre hair back out of his face before getting comfortable and asking outright, "Why did I find you chained to pipe in a warehouse filled with assassins?"

As if the inquiry was tiring for the Celestial Mage, she let out an exaggerated sigh before launching into the story she had touched on with Cristoff before he told her that Vander was actually there and she could actually meet him. "Well, it's sort of complicated but long story short-ish, I was trying to get the name of the society those morons worked for since they had been seen throughout Fiore but I didn't get it. The guy who was watching me did have a loose set of lips though, blabbed on about a place called the Labyrinthian. I appreciate the save though. I had sent Loke and Virgo back just before squirrelly guy got ballsy and took to using my whip instead of his fists."

His dark brows furrowed at the mention of the legendary and lost place mostly famous from the ancient stories and myths of the still worshipped gods in Ca-elum. There were rumors that the elaborate maze had been found in the wilds of the countries western island but both teams of explorers and archeologists sent to investigate entered the forest and never returned.

Her continued musing interrupted his rapidly forming thoughts as she leaned back into the headboard to look at the sad little nubs of her nails from her short captivity. "I know for a fact there is only one good lead on where that could be and I also know for a fact that you Boscans have a trade agreement with Ca-elum that leads to regular air shipments to and from the main island."

Blinking at the only just recovered mage still not officially off bedrest, he had to clarify what he was ninety-nine percent sure meant Lucy had every intention of boarding one the heavily guarded airships to hitch a ride to the foreign country to find the impossible mythic labyrinth and do her best to eradicate what was a whole slew of half-assed assassins cowering in the trees.

Leaning forward with his hands pressed together against his lips in thought, he narrowed his gaze to purposefully scrutinize the completely unfazed blonde, her own bored deadpan rivaling his borderline condescending look. "You," gesturing to her horizontal, novelty pajama covered body tucked into pale blue blankets, "recently revived international mage of mystery, would like to what, comandeer a ship and crash into the mythical setting that may or may not hold a minotaur and a whole barrel of trained murderers and take them out all by yourself?"

He watched as a slow-curling grin started forming on her face as something keen and sharp sparked in her dark brown eyes to stoke his own sense of adventure to life as she leaned towards him unconsciously, "I won't be by myself."

"Oh? You have friends crazy enough to join you?" His reply was playful as he found himself perched on the edge of his seat, caught up in the rare energy and warmth held within her eyes.

She looked away with an unreadable but knowing smile, her voice clipped with a confidence that started stoking a whole other kind of fire low in his core. "Plenty, but we don't need them. You and I will move faster alone."

"Funny, I don't remember agreeing to come with you."

Her response was quick, as if going tit for tat with him was nothing for her. "Are you saying you don't want to come with me?"

"Not necessarily."

Satisfied with his bland answer, she opened her mouth to let out what was about to be a swift finishing blow for the discussion but the sound of one very familiar growl caused her eyes to roll and her shoulders to sag. Her quiet muttering let him know the root of her ire was most definitely the Lightning Dragon Slayer on the comms with Cris who was heading straight their way by the sounds of it.

"I told Cris not to call Laxus. Now I'm gonna get an earful of totally unfair bullshit that doesn't have anything to do with anything."

Trying and failing to hold in his chuckles at the fiery woman's expense, Vander got comfortable for the showdown between the two fair-headed Fairies.

"Well where the fuck is she, Cris? I've been over every goddamned inch of Fiore and no one knows anything about it. Including firefuck and Titania who have been up my ass every fucking day since she left. I'm gonna kill someone if someone doesn't tell me what the fuck is going on right now!"

Oh, yeah. Vander missed the easily riled Lightning Mage. Eager to see how Lucy handled the pissed off man solely focused on her, he hoped she wasn't the type to wilt away from Laxus' overblown and quite frankly melodramatic ways.

Cristoff completely ignored Fairy Tail's Master as he knocked pleasantly on the already open door, his voice as casual as the look on his face. "Excuse me, but you have a call and it seems pretty pressing."

"Pressing? Are fucking kidding me right now with this shit?"

Rolling her eyes, Lucy threw off her covers, walked in measured slow steps to his raven-haired brother before simultaneously taking the comm lacrima from him while she stood on her tiptoes to press a chaste kiss to his jaw since she couldn't quite reach his cheek. She too ignored the huffy, red-faced dragon on the other end of the call as she spoke in a light manner at odds with the tension bleeding from the smooth lacrima. "Thank you so much for this, Cris. Totally owe you one for looking out for me."

"I am three seconds from grabbing a mage at random and electrocuting them in your place, Blondie. I need answers now."

Taking a deep breath to prepare herself, she finally looked at Laxus with a haughty pose, her hip cocked as she loosely held the comm so his view of her would be off-center and crooked in ways that would irritate the irate Slayer even further. Vander could hear the way his teeth were gnashing from his lazy position and let out a noise of approval to himself.

"Hello, fellow blond human being. I'm fine, thank you for asking and uh, I'm obviously in Bosco. Where Cristoff lives," stopping her drippingly sarcastic monologue to make a wide motion to space around her to end up with the tips of her fingers barely touching the Lunar Slayer's chin as if to say 'where else would she be', "and I recall you telling me that I was no longer your headache to deal with after you removed my guildmark."

Frustrated to the point of insanity at dealing with her, Laxus finally erupted in an explosive string that took both Pradesh's aback while Lucy rolled her eyes and checked her nails. "YOU FUCKING TOLD ME TO! You wanted it gone. You wanted to leave. I was trying to keep you from doing something so incredibly stupid, even Natsu knew not to fucking touch them without my approval. It's been three weeks and I'm getting real fucking tired of having to run interference for you and your dumbass decisions."

Putting her hand to her chest in genuine offense, her eyes narrowed dangerously as she seethed and the temperature of the room lowered from the icy tone to her even words, "I didn't ask you to run interference for me and you gave me no choice. You said it was out of Fairy Tail's hands. You said there wasn't a place for someone unwilling to listen to rational thought in your guild."

"What did you expect, Lucy?" The use of her name had her wincing just a little as his tone softened and he let out an exhausted breath before he rubbed his face and continued, "My hands were tied and I had to let the Council take over. They threatened to shut us down if we were found anywhere near this. I know you knew one of the girls they found but this is bigger than just a few scattered incidents."

There was a lull of silence before Laxus spoke quietly. "Come home before you get hurt worse than you already have. Your nakama misses you."

The emotion behind his words was sound and unmistakable; he was worried about her and he wanted her to come home. He regretted letting her go in the first place but he was the Magic Council's favorite plaything at the moment and he needed to keep the guild in perfect check until they grew bored with waiting for them to mess up.

Lucy already knew that though. It was the whole reason she had him take her mark away before she left.

The next few minutes consisted of her watery eyes eating away at both Pradesh boys as she asked if she could have some privacy to talk to Laxus which both complied to with reluctance before they found themselves sitting next to each other on the couch in silence. Cristoff's knee bouncing out of worry while Vander shamelessly listened in on the blonde while he feigned sleep.

XxXxXxXxX

Six days later, Vander had found himself roped into a pretty solid plan based around flimsy at best information on the Labyrinthian she managed to scrounge from random connections at the entrance to a totally benign looking temple crumbling away from decades abandoned to nature.

Having found himself in utter fascination with the enigma that was Lucy Heartfilia, he literally popped in directly behind the beautiful mage as she bent to read the ancient dialect that was carved into every inch of available stone to press his hips into her backside as he bent to put his face next to hers as if he were also reading the language and not just testing to see how much of his teasing she could take. Which was a lot already in the short time they've spent together.

"Whatcha got for me, sunshine?"

A snort of a laugh sounded from her before she pulled her face back far enough to look up at him from beneath her thick lashes with an easy smile pulling at her pouty, delectable lips, "Yeah, unfortunately my knowledge on this dead language is slim to none BUT I did find a stone that looks suspiciously like a button and we," pausing to straighten both their torsos and have the Shadowquip throw his arms over her shoulders and practically drape himself over her smaller frame before she continued with a devious lilt to her voice, "are going to see what it does."

Just as she finished and pushed her 'button', they heard the odd noise of stone moving across stone before Lucy let out a near maniacal cackle and the floor dropped out from below them and they were tumbling and sliding down a chute to gods only knew where.

By the time the two hit the bottom of the boobytrap, Vander had landed flat on his back in a cloud of fine powdery dirt with his breath cleanly knocked from his lungs with a glorious face full of the soft mounds nearly loose from the tank top she was wearing. As a salacious grin spread across his face, Lucy shifted her weight from his gasping chest to hover just over his pelvis as concerned laced her voice through her coughing and waving to try and disperse the cloud of dirt so she could see and breathe properly, "Are you still kicking down there?"

Unable to answer until his lungs rebooted, he lifted one of his hands to give her as a good squeeze as she braced herself up with a hand splayed across the center of his chest.

Her quiet melodious laughter sounded as the dust started to settle around them and the hand that was fanning at it moved to cup his cheek before giving him a few pats, "Gonna take that as a yes then," before bracing herself on his forehead and pushing herself upright to take in the room where they had landed.

Vander having finally gotten normal lung function back, sat up on his elbows to watch her walk the edges of the cavernous room lit very ominously by flickering torches of blue flames and drawled good-naturedly, "Well, we know what the button does and I'm pretty sure we can expect the same kind of end result from any other buttons or levers we find in our continued travels together."

"Come now, we're having fun," was all she said before she let out low whistle and Vander got the distinct impression that he was going to have to be the impulse control of the two which would lead to glorious adventure or the excruciating demise of them. Either way, the day was starting to have some real potential.

"If it's another switch, I'd rather you not- okay, or push the thing and we will see where that takes us."

She gave him an intelligent sharp look from over her shoulder before the wall in front of the two mages slid open slow enough to force them have to wait in patient silence for it to finish. Their eyes never left each other as Lucy's saucy stance held firm and Vander resisted the uncalled for but not unwanted urge to see what ancient booby-trapped temple sex would be like.

When the loud commotion of the door opening finally ceased, the Shadowquip swept his arm out in a show of chivalry. "After you, sunshine."

False shock took over the deceivingly innocent features of her face as she quipped, "There are manners somewhere buried in that brain of yours? Huh, I thought it was filled with pin-up posters and sex positions. Color me impressed," before blowing a few stray strands of her hair that came loose from the messy knot at the back of her head and walking into the newly revealed hallway without hesitation.

The youngest Pradesh watched her hips sway, his head tilted to really take the wide swing in as his thoughts started twisting and turning, cursing his own rule against sleeping with the same person twice while he tried to figure the likelihood of her letting him lock them in somewhere so he could finally get his fill of the tempestuous woman.

Calling back over her shoulder in a sing-song, he shook his head with a mirthful glint to his wine eyes. "Better catch up, baby tomato. Hah, get it? Ketchup, baby tomato. What a punny joke."

No, Vander was pretty much convinced she was sent as the ultimate test of his lifestyle since she was just as reckless as he was except she didn't use a magic that could get her out of the shit she found herself in, she just walked in with confidence and the tenacity to see herself out of it and she did it with a smile that could bring a man to his knees.

Something he was more than willing to do if it meant he could have his chin drip with her cum and hear his name from her heavenly lips just once.

XxXxXxX

Three hours, two spike pits and one gnarly looking gruesome scene that explained where the other teams of researchers got to later, the two mages were standing in front of what could be a door or maybe the stone structure could be just another wall like the rest of the giant stone archway-door-walls they found. Vander had his arms crossed over his chest with a thoughtful look on his face while Lucy had her hands on her hips as her lips pressed into a tight line, a quizzical crease between her brows as they both their necks craned up to stare in complete silence while surrounded pile literal piles of bones. Human bones. Bones that had definitive teeth marks in them.

Her eyelids drooped as she finally turned to offer with a careless shrug, "We gotta open it."

Vander's eyes stayed fixed on the door that undoubtedly held whatever ate the other guys that obviously made the mistake of opening the door the last two times someone was faced with the current 'do or do not' moment they found themselves in as he gave his head one good shake to say 'or nah', "I don't know if we 'gotta' open it actually. Didn't go so well for the last cats."

Her face dropped into blatant indignant deadpan as she stared at his striking profile, the giant sconces of blue flames dancing across his rakish features mischievously. "What do you mean we don't gotta open it."

"I mean," the way he drew the word out clearly showed his belief that he thought he shouldn't even have to explain to her why the door should remain closed but was doing it anyway to fill her whims, "something or more likely from the amount of bones left, somethings chowed down on the last people to open the door. I would like to keep us from becoming chew toys so," finally turning his head to meet her gaze without acknowledging the (somehow familiar) melodramatic look on her face at all to hit her with his damned best charming smile, "let's find a different way in."

Her expression softened into dubious interest as she prompted with a simple, "Go on."

"Sunshine, in my vast pool of wisdom I have collected over my lifetime, I have gathered this particularly true piece of knowledge."

His borderline arrogant timbre and schmoozey face nearly pulled giggles from the blond but she remained firm in her skepticism as she hummed in slow response as a roll of her eyes escaped her stoic front, "Mhmmm."

The cheshire grin the pulled the corners of her lips wide sent a very real shiver down her spine to settle quite neatly low her abdomen as he delivered his line with the ease of a veteran, "There's always a backdoor I can get into."

Their eyes were locked, his shining with debaucherous self-satisfaction and hers with sharp refusal to give him any additional satisfaction with the reaction he wanted from her.

His brow raised playfully and she felt her nostrils start flaring as the muscle of her cheeks start twitching and he knew he had her right then and she knew he knew he had her by the way his eyes crinkled into victorious slits and a shit-eating crooked grin quirked his lips.

Letting out the breath she had been holding through clenched teeth, her belly laughter was building momentum until managed to smother it enough to give his stomach a quick backhand and she wiped her eyes, "I can't believe you just said that to me with that deadass serious look in your eyeballs. That is impressive levels of perversion."

Bowing his head as he caught her hand in his and pressed it to his chest, his voice was easy and lilting as he accepted her words as the praise it was, "Thank you so much, that is so sweet of you to say but," letting a few of his own endearing airy chuckles out before continuing, "I meant, I can get us into that room without having to open this monster of door." His thumb had started rubbing over the skin of her knuckles at some point and she was having to remind herself that he was the one and done Pradesh and she had done the one and done thing once in her life with Cristoff and was not the biggest fan. Not that it wasn't the most perfect night of her life so far and that she didn't get an amazing friend out of the exchange, she just wanted to build something real and the way she was having to suppress her attraction for Vander, it would be better if she just didn't get involved at all lest she wanted to go through the one-sided pining thing again.

No, thank you. Check please. Not happening again.

But that didn't mean she wouldn't enjoy his attention while she had it. So she gave his hand a light squeeze before throwing her hands up in surrender as she teased the handsome Shadowquip. "All right, backdoor, let's get to gettin'. I want to get back to Magnolia before I'm eighty."

"Pushy, pushy. Sheesh, you're a tough customer." His words were light and carefree as usual as he clapped his hands together and rubbed them villainously, "Come, sunshine, to the shadows we fade."

Her hair had come mostly loose at this point and it fanned out as she shook her head with a warm toothless smile on her face, her voice filled with quiet laughter as she stepped into his waiting arms, "You are such a cheese."

Knowing full well he could carry her bridal style and deciding against it, he ran his hands just over the curve of her backside to grip thighs and lift her to his body, her hands wrapping around his shoulders to feel the hard muscles of his shoulders and back flex as an adorable gasp escaped her frame. His laughter was ringing in her ear as she felt the familiar pull of shadow travel pull at her appendages like gravity had doubled on her and held on for dear life.

By the time they got by the Nemeon lions, plural use there, and into the main chamber, they had come the conclusion that the 'society of assassins' was actually just a bunch of nutjobs worshiping whatever entity the temple was originally devoted to and that they had found a way into the main chamber through tunnels in the forest floor. More than likely where they got the labyrinth part of the name.

It took the two of them, four if took into account both Leo and Sagittarius, all of twenty minutes to clean house before the young Pradesh was scooping her up and pressing her face firmly into the crook of his neck to prevent her from opening her eyes while he took them through the void to the place he thought she'd want to go most now that they had their little adventure; home.

When she realized the whispers had stopped and Vander had eased his grip on the back of her head to play with the sensitive hair at the nape of her neck, she in turn eased the vice grip of her thighs around his waist and lifted her head only to be blinded by his annoyingly gorgeous hair. In a huff, she pulled completely back to take in her surroundings.

Oh, no. Oh no, no no, no. She was back in Magnolia.

Where Laxus was waiting to have her locked away until she was a hobbled old woman.

Refocusing on the grinning man enjoying their position with a laziness she pretty much equated to that of a cats, she gave her best puppy-dogs before asking with a deafening amount of hope, "Can we actually go back to your place?"

That, Vander could do with pleasure.


	7. Huge

~PREFACE STUFF cause I literally can't write oneshots without feeling like I've missed something I wanted to get across to y'all SO I'm sort of imagining this very Halsey/Lana Del Rey vibe for Lucy's voice. Also I'm a whore for angstyLucy and I haven't written her much so like here we are XD

The songs I mention/have listed are This is Gospel by Panic! At the Disco (Piano Version); The Run and Go by Twenty One Pilots; Colors by Halsey; Take me to Church by Hozier; Little Do You Know by Alex & Sierra so if y'all wanted to check em out or give a listen, go for it.~

Huge- A VanLu Singer AU no one asked for

Lucy Heartfilia had been steadily booking gigs at bars and clubs since she was a fresh faced sixteen year old girl with a guitar and a dream of becoming as big as her idol, MiraJane Strauss who was the face of the record company that also boasted powerhouse bands like Raijinshu and Twin Sabers, solo artists like Black Steel Gajeel and Gildarts Clive and even had a some EDM DJ's signed, the most popular being Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster. All signed to Fairy Tail. The relatively small but infamous label always put on the best, must-see concerts because they somehow managed to make even the two most unlikely artists from different genres to work together and sound amazing. She had gotten tickets to the Fire and Ice themed EDM tour built around Natsu and Gray when they played their final show of the tour in Magnolia before they got popular and the event was legendary.

It had been six years since she played her first real show and after those six years of holding out hope that any label would pick her up, she had gotten a call from Akane Resort about a spot in the lineup of their annual summer music festival needing filled and somehow the slot right before some foreign act was now hers. It was good spot on one of the bigger stages in the early evening on the first day and she was ecstatic to the point of having to keep herself in check until she actually got off the phone.

The main sponsor for the event was none other than Fairy Tail itself and nearly all of their artists would be attending the festival so the moment she got off the phone with the resort, she dialed Levy to tell her one of the perks of accepting were two free VIP passes for the entirety of the festival including a two bedroom suite in the swanky upper levels of the hotel and the two of them would be there.

When the pair of emotionally unstable ladies stepped out of the car that picked them up at the airport to gape and the effort put into the festival and saw just how huge it had gotten over the years. From the entrance of the resort, Levy and Lucy counted five separate stages with varying setups and that was just what they could see right then.

Eager to get checked in and unpacked, Lucy grabbed her best friends hand and bounced her way to the check-in desk as the two gushed about the lineup for the week-long music event of the year and how they were going to finally see Laxus Dreyar and the rest of the Raijinshu live after a decade of swooning at posters on their bedroom walls.

XxXxXxXxX

Poking her head of long pastel pink hair styled in loose beachy waves with the top split in two french braids to come to an end in two perfect buns to gage the mood of the decent crowd she managed to gather being a relatively unknown artist and pick out Levy's head of bright blue hair in a cute mini dress with wide bell sleeves and a plunging back made of layers of thin white cotton and gave the barest wave from the side of the biggest stage she's ever played on in her whole life.

They pretty much gave her an hour to do whatever she wanted with so she had a good mix of covers that always did well with both the younger and older music lovers and the songs she wrote herself. The prospect of getting to play her own music at a festival like this one had her bouncing from booted foot to foot in a moment of gleeful delight that this was actually happening. She was really about to play a set at Akane's Summer Festival.

Her nerves had been flip flopping since they woke up earlier that morning to check out the venue and plan the schedule for the bands they absolutely wanted to see and got ready with the band but standing off-stage in the pair of worn high-waisted jean shorts fraying at the hem cut high on her thighs and the now-cropped t-shirt from her first Dragneel concert so faded pink, it looked white against the thick red lines that spelled 'Salamander' across her chest while she shook her wrists to get all her bracelets and bangles down where they belonged made her adrenaline pump in the most addictive and wonderful way that felt almost as good as the first time she mustered the courage to get on stage and play her first gig alone.

Lucy Heartfilia was decidedly and irrevocably lost to show business and she had barely gotten a foot in the door.

Getting her cue from the stage manager, she crossed the stage to get to where they had set up a vintage grand piano with a smile and wave as she greeted the crowd soaking in the sunlight and good music to introduce herself as she sat on the bench and adjusted the microphone down to where she would be most comfortable while she played her own piano cover of one of her favorite songs.

Her own little chuckle sounded through the mic as cheers started from the few people who recognized the song before taking a deep breath and doing this thing.

This is gospel for the fallen ones

Locked away in permanent slumber

Assembling their philosophies

From pieces of broken memories

Oh, Oh

Their gnashing teeth and criminal tongues conspire against the odds

But they haven't seen the best of us yet

If you love me let me go

If you love me let me go

'Cause these words are knives and often leave scars

The fear of falling apart

And truth be told, I never was yours

The fear, the fear of falling apart

Lucky for her, the smokey lilting tone of her voice caught the attention of the one headliner she didn't recognize since he was from Bosco and this was the first time he was ever playing an official show in Fiore. Not only had she caught the infamous bachelor's attention but stop the stunning man dead in his tracks with the sharp look of growing desire on his face the longer he listened to the haunting natural vibrato of her voice as she hit flawless note after flawless note with emotion so real and tangible, he could feel the hot notes of fiery desire coupled with the morose undertones her piano arrangement brought out in the borrowed song.

This is gospel for the vagabonds,

Ne'er-do-wells and insufferable bastards

Confessing their apostasies

Led away by imperfect impostors

Don't try to sleep through the end of the world

And bury me alive

'Cause I won't give up without a fight

If you love me let me go

If you love me let me go

'Cause these words are knives and often leave scars

The fear of falling apart

And truth be told, I never was yours

The fear, the fear of falling apart

Oh, the fear of falling apart

Oh, the fear, the fear of falling apart

By the time she finished, Vander Pradesh was utterly fascinated by this unknown with the voice of an angel. His arms bulged as they crossed over his chest and his head of long raven hair with a deep red ombre swung to give his manager and oldest brother a shit-eating grin as he spoke with a playful finality that had both Kaleb and Cristoff rolling their eyes at his completely characteristic and unsurprising request, "I want one."

Farron didn't even bat an eye as he gave his youngest brother an indulgent smile and easy, "Of course, you do. Let me go see to that then," before heading off to the nearest security guard to take him backstage to talk to Miss Heartfilia's manager.

Kaleb had to hand it to the little pastel-haired woman effortlessly working the crowd with a genuine quality so pure even he was impressed with how she glowed on stage. She had real potential. That didn't mean that Vander would be necessarily good for her though.

Shooting Cristoff another knowing smirk before the older of them with Farron gone teased his taken little brother and frontman of their own band, "Try not to chew her up and spit her out like the others, Van. This one's got a future if she gets with the right people."

Mock-offense passed over Vander's face as he tore his eyes from Lucy just as she started singing one of her original songs, the harrowing smoke of her lower register soothing like the smell of a campfire in fall, "Are you implying that I am not the 'right people'?"

Both Cristoff and Kaleb answered in instant synchronization, "Yes."

"That is exactly what he's saying. That last time we did this, the poor girl you selected decided to go into accounting." The way the easy-going bassist said it made it sound like accounting was a bad thing as he ran his fingers through the new short messy cut to his silky raven hair only to end up scratching at the dark stubble covering his defined jaw absently.

Vander gave a shrug before he saw two girls start staring and whispering to each other with their fingers pointed directly at him and he decided he would have to finish listening to his sultry siren from backstage where his own fans wouldn't ruin the simple but mesmerizing stripped performance.

Lucy was having an amazing time with the breeze rolling off the ocean rustling her hair and cooling her down from the heat of the lights and bright summer sun. It was hard to believe that people actually stopped and joined her growing crowd so by the time she was about to play her last song, she stopped to thank them from the bottom of her heart with an infectious exuberance that had one random guy in the front row yelling, "I love you," with such vigor that she found herself saying it back through her own jovial laughter before announcing her final song would be another cover of a little fun number titled The Run and Go.

Sitting down to play the first chords with a nod from the band she'd spent most of the day practicing with, she felt like she was on top of the world as she inhaled.

I can't take them on my own, my own

Oh, I'm not the one you know, you know

I have killed a man and all I know

Is I am on the run and go

Before looking across the faces already singing along with her and launching into the chorus:

Don't wanna call you in the nighttime

Don't wanna give you all my pieces

Don't wanna hand you all my trouble

Don't wanna give you all my demons

You'll have to watch me struggle

From several rooms away

But tonight I'll need you to stay

By the time she got to the second verse, she was jamming right along with the scantily clad sea of dancing bodies from the edge of her seat, her backside hovering just above the wooden bench.

I am up against the wall, the wall

Oh, I hear them coming down the hall

I have killed a man and all I know

Is I am on the run and go

After finishing another chorus, her voice got a faraway dreamy smoke to it as she sang the bridge of the song with quiet focus on the delicate high piano notes, lost in her own personal attachment to the lyrics.

Cold nights under siege from accusations

Cerebral thunder in one-way conversations

Giving a cheeky smile, after the end of sweet notes just before her favorite part, she practically knocked the bench over as she stood to sing the last part of the song with an uninhibited free spirit and a brightness to her dark eyes that shined all the way to the people gathering on the outskirts of the crowd she had attracted with magnetic personality and unique voice.

Don't wanna call you in the nighttime

Don't wanna give you all my pieces

Don't wanna hand you all my trouble

Don't wanna give you all my demons

You'll have to watch me struggle

From several rooms away

But tonight I'll need you to stay

After belting the last of her repeated outro, there was a moment time stood still for her. A moment suspended in the air as if she flipped a coin to decide her fate and she needed to gather herself before seeing if she'd land heads of tails. It stood still by her own will, her own flash of reflection on how far she'd come before blinking and taking in the cheers and applause shaking the stage through the thick soles of her worn leather boots.

She gave another deep bow with a look of astonishment before giving another double wave and bounding off-stage to hug to closest warm body she could find and then more than likely die of happy overload. Perfectly content to be struck down riding such a exhilarating high.

True to her word, the instant she got out of view of the crowd her fist was pumping in the air before grabbing the closest patch of fabric she could wrap her fingers around and tugging the person wearing it into a surprisingly strong embrace while she tried to jump up and down at the same time which left her to basically just rub her boobs all over her whoever her unlucky victim was.

Her voice was breathless and elated through the black material of Vander's tight t-shirt as she continued her blind celebration with eyes squeezed shut and a beaming toothy smile on her lips, "I can't believe that just happened. I feel like my heart's gonna explode."

Stilling suddenly, her hand immediately went to her mouth as she mumbled to herself, "No, I'm definitely gonna be sick. I'm gonna hurl right now," before shoving the beautiful model of a human she just used as her own personal rubbing post away from her as she half stumbled behind some boxes of equipment and threw up the noodles she had eaten for lunch.

Vander watched as the nostalgia of his own first real gig washed over him before clearing his throat and asking the bent woman currently wiping her mouth off with the back of her hand with an easy drawl to his tone, "Are you usually this touch and go?"

With her focus on the dread of having to ask someone for something to clean that up, her hand shot out to give him a blind thumbs up as she groaned out, "Nope. This is just a super special case but thanks for asking."

Raising an intrigued pierced brow at her lack of interest in him after the friction of their emotional meeting, his voice was drawn and lazy like his carefree manner of being as he checked the filed edges of his nails from never using a pick when he played acoustic, "No problem, sunshine. Where'd you learn to sing like that?"

Taking a moment to take a breath and look up to the sky in hopes that someone up there would grant her patience to calm the growing irritation from his continued unnecessary presence, she finally turned with every intention of aiming a barb of her own at him but stopped dead when she finally took in the downright gorgeous man giving her the most attractive mischievous smile she's ever seen.

Floundering for a moment before looking around to see if anyone else was seeing what she was seeing only to watch uncareing bodies moving equipment for the next band, the pink-haired beauty cleared her throat before offering a little nicer than her original tone was going to be, "I...could always sing like that. It just sort of comes out of me." With a shrug, she gave her throw up one last guilty look before stepping around it to get out from behind the stacked equipment with her hand rubbing the back of her head in a nervous habit of hers.

Before anything more could come of the exchange, Farron's rich voice called from across backstage, "Vander! I couldn't find Miss Heartfilia's manager- Oh," pausing to offer his hand to her with a smile that melted her anxiety away, "I see you've done one better, Van. My name is Farron and I'm his manager. We would be delighted to have a discussion with you about potentially working together over some dinner at the resort?"

Throwing a glance back to the scene of her last attempted meal, the grumble of her stomach coupled with the wince that pulled at the delicate features of her face was almost too much for her to tamp down but instead, she gave the pair of unbelievably attractive men her best apologetic smile before her wide, honest eyes landed in Vander's deep wine pools to tilt her head sheepishly, "I'm sorry but, who are you exactly?"

The younger of the two let out loud, unbidden laughter at her words which made her face scrunch into confusion before Farron offered kindly, "Miss Lucy, let me introduce you to Vander Pradesh-"

Her eyes bugged as she choked on her own recognition. Vander Pradesh was a headliner. He was the headliner she had never heard of and here he was in all his sexy, mysterious glory and she just up-chucked the contents of her stomach in front of him.

Nice.

"The headliner. I'm an idiot." Smacking her forehead with the palm of her hand, she backpedaled. "And I'm so sorry about the hugging and the yelling in your ear and then the puking. You definitely didn't need to see that."

Levy's voice suddenly sounded from the other side of her like the sky split and angels hit all their harmonies at once, "Lulu? Lulu, where are you? Excuse you, sir, I am walking here," the sass of her short girlfriend unmistakeable over the clanging and banging of set changes.

Grabbing one of each of their hands in hers, she gave another apologetic smile as she rushed, "Hold that thought while I go get her before she gets herself in trouble," and deftly wound her way to the annoyed blunette before exchanging quiet words.

Levy's eyes went round as she spoke with astonishment lacing her words, "He wants to have dinner with you. That's- well that's just what you need, Lulu."

Pressing her cheek to Levy's, she gestured emphatically to the two freakishly good looking men politely waiting for her to get back. "Look at him, Levy! Look! He's beautiful. How am I supposed to focus on anything rational?!"

A thoughtful look took over the pixie features of her face before she offered unhelpfully with a shit-eating grin, "He is unreal levels of handsome, maybe even more than Laxus, eh?"

Grabbing her elbow with a sigh, Lucy muttered under breath as she made her way through the bustle of backstage, "I didn't have to bring you, you know. I could have just left you at home."

"Pfft, yeah okay," was all Levy scoffed out before meeting Farron and Vander Pradesh and heading out to have dinner.

XxXxXxXxX

After Lucy got over her shock that Levy actually knew who Vander was thanks to the blunette's mild obsession with Raijinshu's drummer Bickslow Pradesh and that she listened to his music without her best friend knowing, eased into the surprisingly light conversation without her hands shaking with uncertainty and excitement like before.

"So your whole family is in the business? That must rough." Which was an understatement in her opinion. She was a full time musician without family and she felt like she barely had time to relax. It must be insane to try and plan anything with all their busy schedules.

The smooth tone of Farron's voice sounded from across the crisp white cloth covered table, a glass of golden sweet tea in his hand as if he was just about to take a drink. "I rather enjoy getting to work with my brothers but we have two sisters who just don't care for the spotlight in such a literal sense. One's in the military and the other is well on her way to becoming a pediatrician."

Drawling from his casual position in the chair next to the baby-blue eyed sweetheart of a man, the wilder of the two men leaned back on his chair to look over the edge of the balcony they were seated as one arm caught him on the railing and the tapped a steady beat on his bent knee resting in his lap. "But all the boys are in the family biz. Even if Bixy is at a rival label, we still let him eat at the kiddo table at holidays."

"How generous of you all to still include him," was her teasing response mindless but she was distracted by strings of lyrics already filtering into her mind from the short time she spent with the whirlwind bad boy. His tall lithely built body was littered with the simple sexy black lines of his traditional Boscan clan tattoos and piercings, the accidental-on-purpose perfection that was the enviable raven-black to deep red ombre of his shoulder length tousled hair, the constant lust that burned in his playful pools the color of aged wine could make even the best of them flush; it was all this pristine haze of heady inspiration inciting prime firing for her creative neurons. She could get lost in it without even realizing she'd fallen down the rabbit hole.

Pulling out a tattered leather bound notebook on it's way to falling apart as she muttered to herself in her own little world, Levy just prompted conversation with Farron about what it was like to be a manager in the entertainment business when you needed to fill the incredibly large footsteps of Arman Pradesh, who worked with, produced and managed too many stars to name and he was more than happy to take the time to boast about his family and the reward of getting to make so many people happy through music.

Vander, however, had opened his mouth to make another of his easy retorts only to be drawn into the look on her face. Her brows drawn together deep in thought, the gentle slope of her slightly upturned button nose scrunched with the concentrated purse of her plump pink lips as she bounced an expensive drafting pencil off them before they parted in a 'o' as she started scribbling in the last few pages of empty paper. The slight wash of her fading pink hair as the loose curls framing her impossibly large chocolate eyes forcing him to take in the soft way her long lashes kissed her cheekbones as she closed her eyes as if to daydream right in the middle of everything like the world around her didn't exist; like she was in a world all her own and she didn't need anything else while she was there.

It was sensual in way even he wasn't expecting. He knew the feeling well except the world he delved into wasn't a daydream at all. The nightmare that fueled his muse when he wrote made him a shadow of the carefree man he was now and her innocence was a beacon for him to hold onto.

Or at least that's how it was in the beginning.

It took very little convincing on the Pradesh side of things to get Lucy to do a song with Vander during his primetime headliner slot on the main stage as the sole artist performing the whole two hours they gave he and his brothers on the second to last night and the result of the five minute duet was the spark that ignited her worldwide popularity that started with the announcement of a joint tour with the Pradesh brood.

Rumors of the two being in a scandalous secret relationship were laughed at for two years before the two singers finally admitted to having a romantic relationship for a short time before Vander did what he did best and sabotaged the seemingly picture-perfect relationship with random roadies and pills to put him to sleep after staying up for days on end.

It crushed Lucy to have to watch it and after a year and a half of breaking her back trying to make it work, she left. She left Farron and the White Sea record label; she left Bosco and she left Vander to sign a contract with Fairy Tail.

She loved being in her space in Magnolia and found herself distracting her thoughts from the once-sweet Pradesh who broke her heart by spending time with the welcoming family that was Fairy Tail and the artists signed with them. It was crazy to think she actually had a problem with Natsu Dragneel sneaking into her bed for cuddle sessions when he and Gray fought and he needed someplace to crash until the icy Fullbuster let him back into their home.

It took a little for her to feel totally comfortable around Bickslow since he reminded her so much of his younger, wilder brother but even that seemed to come with time. Which is how she came to announce her first world tour after the three year hiatus from performing outside of Magnolia and the smaller surrounding towns. The back-to-blonde singer had done a few shows at the arena in Crocus with her fellow Fairy Tail performers but this was huge. Bigger than even that was the excited buzz that started about the deeper meaning of a new world tour.

Lucy Heartfilia had a new album in the works and from the explosive overwhelming support she got from her first one, they had nearly swarmed the record label in a riotous move to get information from anyone coming within fifty feet of the front door until she finally released her first single Colors.

The soul-baring song was deceptively upbeat with the techno/EDM influences brought by her extremely close friendship to Natsu sent a wave through fans of both herself and her ex-flame to boost both there popularity in the press; both for better and worse.

Vander dealt with his one and only breakup after his one and only relationship like the trainwreck he was; he pretended to keep his playful facade up and made jokes but he had been worse than ever. He knew he fucked up the only truly good thing he would ever want to have and it ate away at him every second of every day which is why he outright refused to listen to the latest single of a yet to be released album launching a tour that would bring the blonde angel back to Bosco for the first time in years.

Until he was trapped in the back of the town car Farron sent and the driver seemed to be deaf as he pounded on the clever divider between them and he was forced to listen to her absolutely breathtaking voice rip through all his careful seams to keep his guilt and her locked away.

The longer he listened, the more the ache in his chest grew until he found himself dreaming she was there with him, right next to him in the back of his town car in the streets of Bosco's capital with her forgiving doe eyes and effortless grace. She was smiling despite the cutting honesty of her lyrics until he heard her voice, heard her speak with emotion so real and vibrant, he swore he could feel her breath:

You were red, and you liked me because I was blue

But you touched me, and suddenly I was a lilac sky

Then you decided purple just wasn't for you

But he blinked and she was gone. Leaving behind everything he smashed to try and forget everything they had together so she could move on and he could stay within the limits of what a guy like him deserved in the wake and he broke down in choking sobs.

Ignorant of the happenings in a town car on the streets of Pelerno, Lucy let out a tired sigh as she flopped onto the unforgiving rock of a couch in the studio after finishing the last of her vocal recording for the still unnamed album.

Having come in to listen to the somber siren and see if he could convince her to cook dinner for him since Gray had a show at a grand opening of some club near Shirotome, Natsu gave the top of Lucy's head a few affectionate pats from where she landed in his sprawled lap. "Luuuuce, I'm starving and your tasty cooking is all that will save me."

Turning her head just enough to shoot the pinkette a tired half-hearted glare from under the messy tangle of her fringe, her voice was dark as she spoke quietly. "I just spent the last two weeks of my life in this tiny box of a room. There is no way I'm going to do anything but relax when I get home."

A childish while left the grown man before a beat passed and his head suddenly snapped forward from its original place resting on the back of the couch and he spoke excitedly, "Take-out and movies."

Her tired reply was impulsive as she let out a groan of her own, "Natsu, I don't want to-"

"Take-out…"

"-put any effort into anything-"

"...and movies."

"-except showering and sleeping."

"And take-out and movies with your best friend! Come on, Luce. We haven't hung out in forever."

His persistence finally wore through her bad mood to pull airy chuckles from her chest before she sat up and admonished mirthfully, "You literally just spent the night yesterday."

"Yeah but we'll be on tour soon and I want you to hang out with me while you still like being around me." The casual way he said made it sound like something that happened a lot to the overzealous guy but he looked unfazed as he absently rubbed the end of his scarf between his fingers.

Having done many concerts with him, spent much of her time writing with him and spent practically every waking moment with him, she severely doubted she was going to get tired of him just because they were on the road. He was already pretty much a handful off the road and she adored him still.

Giving his sandaled foot a light kick with her bare foot, she nodded her head towards the door before brightly offering, "I like being around you all the time, idiot, now let's get moving. I am also starving and a great big pineapple-mushroom pizza is calling my name."

Disgust clearly displayed on her best friends sharp predatory features as he gagged out, "That's gross. There's no meat on that and you put fruit on pizza. That's really gross."

And the two made their way to Lucy's cozy little apartment to order way too much food and binge out on fictional plots and fake blood of old school horror movies that she and Natsu spent most of the movie busting a gut making fun of.

XxXxXxXxX

It was the day she absolutely had to get back to Levy, now her manager, with the title of her album or the devious blunette was going to let Cana name it for her. Normally that would be plenty of motivation for the blonde to get her ass in gear but she made the regretful decision to kick off her tour in Bosco to get the worst of it out of the way in the beginning but that meant multiple nights of shows which meant more time spent in the capital city that was home to White Sea.

It was kind of funny that she had just come from lunch with Cristoff but got stuck in traffic downtown. Turning up the radio to enjoy the sunshine of the day while she waited, she wasn't expecting to hear the radio personality mention about a new song he had to debut and it being a real career changer. Whatever that meant.

After a few relatively catchy commercials, one beautiful chord played on a piano before the all too familiar sound of Vander's voice rang through in a raw, bold way that nearly countered the simplicity of his harmonies and wrapped around her heart like a blanket fresh out of the dryer.

My lover's got humour

She's the giggle at a funeral

Knows everybody's disapproval

I should've worshipped her sooner

If the Heavens ever did speak

She is the last true mouthpiece

Every Sunday's getting more bleak

A fresh poison each week

'We were born sick,' you heard them say it

My church offers no absolutes

She tells me 'worship in the bedroom'

The only heaven I'll be sent to

Is when I'm alone with you

I was born sick, but I love it

Command me to be well

Amen, Amen, Amen

Take me to church

I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies

I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife

Offer me that deathless death

Good God, let me give you my life

Take me to church

I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies

I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife

Offer me that deathless death

Good God, let me give you my life

She was barely holding herself together behind the wheel of her rental car as she turned the radio up to hear what he wanted to tell her even though the monsoon of her emotions could only be held for so long before the dam broke and flooded everything.

If I'm a pagan of the good times

My lover's the sunlight

To keep the Goddess on my side

She demands a sacrifice

To drain the whole sea

Get something shiny

Something meaty for the main course

That's a fine looking high horse

What you got in the stable?

We've a lot of starving faithful

That looks tasty

That looks plenty

This is hungry work

Take me to church

I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies

I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife

Offer me that deathless death

Good God, let me give you my life

Take me to church

I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies

I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife

Offer me that deathless death

Good God, let me give you my life

No masters or kings when the ritual begins

There is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin

In the madness and soil of that sad earthly scene

Only then I am human

Only then I am clean

Amen, Amen, Amen

Take me to church

I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies

I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife

Offer me that deathless death

Good God, let me give you my life

Take me to church

I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies

I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife

Offer me that deathless death

Good God, let me give you my life

Though she could vaguely register the voice of the DJ as he tried to talk up some new brand of headphones, the only thing running through her head as the cars around her slowly started moving and she found herself in a robotic trance was Vander's voice and his beautiful heartfelt words.

The moment her foot stepped through her temporary home for the time she would be in Bosco, she called Levy to let her know what the title of her album would be. Somehow, it seemed to already fit with the tours night sky/celestial theme.

A week later, Vander was chugging black coffee to try and wake himself up for a brunch with their father when he walked out onto the patio of his penthouse and did a spit take from forty floors off a building.

In the form of a gigantic digital billboard, was the long-awaited tour cover and title to her highly debated sequel album.

CHVRCH

A slow curling grin took hold on his face as the morning breeze took the loose hair of his messy low bun and he felt the beginnings of a spark in his chest. Now he just needed to get her in the same room so he could actually talk to her and rumor had it she was already in his city and was seen with each of his siblings. Which he already knew about since Cristoff was the biggest supporter of he and Lucy's relationship and Kaleb didn't do subtle well. The older of the three had grown tired of Vander's pitiful excuse at being okay shortly after Lucy left so he was more than willing to do whatever it took to get his youngest brother over himself and happy again.

Fortunately for the two, they both had enough meddling family members that they wouldn't have to worry about trying to work things out in their own way. As a result, Lucy was in her dressing room when Levy poked her head in the door and dropped the nuclear bomb that surprise Mira and Laxus found her the perfect special guest to fill the empty spot she had while she was touring in Bosco without Natsu since the pink-headed moron lost his passport and couldn't leave the country like he was originally supposed to and that special guest just had to be Vander.

Not that she didn't want to see him because she had been trying to muster the nerve to pick up the phone since her album dropped but because she really didn't want to have this reunion in front of a million strangers under the hellish stage lights that left you squinting for hours after and sweating like a sinner on sunday. Not to mention it had literally been years since they performed together and they had both changed a lot, or at least she hoped they both had changed.

"Levy-," was all she managed to hiss out before the snickering frame of her supposed sister disappeared with a click of the latch to leave her in utter silence staring at a doorknob to try and figure just how in the hell this was going to work.

Standing under the stage pacing out some pre-show adrenaline, she had been talking to her sound guy when the unmistakable smooth timbre of her first true love cut her soft giggles off with a casual ease that somehow raised her blood pressure and lowered her heart rate to pull at her chest. "Hey there, sunshine. Ready to go?"

And just like that, she was right back to the first time they sang together and the simplicity of their relationship before they let so much build up between them, even they couldn't break it down. The time apart wore them down and as her lip quirked into an eager grin, they crumbled completely to leave behind the solid foundation for them to build on the right way. "Absolutely, peaches. Do you know what songs we're supposed to do cause no one's told me anything." Though she wasn't lying, her tone was bright and playful as they warned them they hit the five minute mark.

"Doesn't matter to me," she could hear his casual shrug in his voice as he continued with a sly tone, "I know every one of 'em."

Raising a brow, she smiled up at the stagehand helping her on the platform before teasing Vander. "You must have bought CHVRCH the moment it came out then." Adjusting the form-fitting structured black one-piece studded with tiny crystals to mimic the stars displaying her curvy legs before hopping from one high-heeled platform black velvet boot to the other to add, "And you must have listened to it on repeat since then."

She was adjusting the sheer deep sapphire of her loose kimono-like cape also studded with all sorts of cosmic themed embroidery with crushed velvet and silk accents when he laughed out, "I'm actually listening to as we speak," before pausing and adding just a touch more serious than Lucy was used to hearing from the unpredictable man, "Just introduce me whenever you're ready and if you're not ready tonight, I'll be right here waiting in the wings tomorrow night. We can work out the details when we get there."

It took her all of fifteen minutes before it was time in her set for the song she wrote for them; Little Do You Know. Thankfully it was already a duet she had recorded with Gajeel so there would be little confusion as to who would be doing what as she started talking to the sea of smiling faces and they settled into silence to listen to her unique lilt.

"As many of you know, my very best friend Natsu Dragneel was supposed to come here and mix for all you lovely people but in an unfortunate but not surprising turn of events, he couldn't make it." She paused to let them have their boos and noises of disappointment before she was raising her hands to quiet them with a playful shake of her head, "Don't worry cause I can do you one better. So why don't y'all put your hands together and help me welcome a person very close to my heart, Vander Pradesh," before taking a sidestep to extend an arm off-stage and turn her head just in time to catch him as the spotlights light him up like a supernova.

He looked very much unchanged from the lasts time she had seen his picture in Sorcerer magazine. His raven hair hit midway down his broad chest as the top was pulled back in a messy bun just below the crown of his head and he was wearing his usual tight black t-shirt and black leather motorcycle pants loosely bunched above a pair of new untied suede boots. He replaced his nose stud with a thin silver ring though, so that was new. Sexy and new.

She should have known he wouldn't try to keep things low-key until after the show as he gave the crowd an energetic greeting and thank you before locking eyes with her, crossing the stage between them in record time to pick her up in an embrace so tight she almost didn't realize he was spinning them as the crowd roared loud enough, sound had to cut out the mics from the feedback.

It gave the pair a rare moment to keep for themselves before diving back into whirlwind of performing.

Her arms had already wound around his neck and with her head tucked safely away in the crook of his neck, she took in what felt like her first clear breath of fresh air since she walked out. "I missed you so much."

His arms tightened a fraction as he pressed a chaste kiss to her temple and whispered, "I missed you, sunshine but I wasn't any good for you."

Pulling back as she bit her lip, Lucy met his gaze without fear. "And now?"

He pressed his forehead against hers as he set her back on her feet while keeping her molded to his body, he chuckled before tucking her wild blonde hair behind her ear. "You made be want to be better. Teach me how to be better for you."

Before she could give her response, sound was letting them know the mics were back up and Lucy cupped his jaw lovingly before turning and launching into the intro of the one true, stripped down ballad she kept raw just for him. Hoping he would hear it the way she imagined when they would spend rainy days in their underwear with their guitars sipping coffee under the awning of his patio just laughing and soaking each other in.

It wasn't until she finally heard him sing the part written for his voice alone that it really hit home this was real. He was real and they were going to be okay.

Little do you know  
I know you're hurt while I'm sound asleep  
Little do you know  
All my mistakes are slowly drowning me  
Little do you know  
I'm trying to make it better piece by piece  
Little do you know  
I, I love you till the sun dies

I'll wait, just wait  
I love you like I've never felt the pain, just wait  
I love you like I've never been afraid, just wait  
Our love we see right here stays so lay your head on me

The starstruck blonde knew the crowd was singing along with them but as she stood hand in hand with the dark haired Pradesh hearing the flawless harmony that came naturally when they sang together, it was like everything faded away except the cheeky look of victory cemented on his handsome features.

After two encore songs and another hour of the two taking requests for covers of songs, they finally lowered the metaphoric curtain and raised the lights. Lucy had taken her shoes off sometime near the end of the show when she changed into a pair of ripped black overalls cut to the top of her thigh and a cropped golden sports bra-like top and now that she had more than three seconds to sit, she instantly piled her sweat mess of hair as best she could while securing it with two mismatched chopsticks and shut her eyes from where she landed on top of a box of sound equipment.

A smile cracked her resting face as she lifted her head to peak on eye open. Nestled soundly between her thighs as he slowly traced his palms up her legs, over the creamy skin of her thighs to grip her hips and pull her towards him to pull lilting laughter from the blonde.

His arms wrapped around her shoulders when she sat upright to wrap her arms around his hips under the soft cotton of his worn shirt as he pressed kiss after kiss into her hairline.

"What do you you and me get out of here, sunshine?"

Getting a mischievous glint in her eye, she cocked her head to the side as she refused his request. "Nope. No can do, peaches."

Familiar with the little game about to play out, Vander played his part out with a genuine crooked smile that melted any pretense that she was trying to keep up about just deeply her feelings ran. "What's a guy like me gotta do to take a girl like you home," was his easy response as he ran the tip of his nose over the sensitive skin below her ear.

"Kiss me like it's the-"

But she never got to finish before Vander said 'fuck it' and took her face in his hands to bring their lips together in a spark of a kiss before Lucy's leg hitched around his taut ass to pull him further into the apex of her body and release the tsunami of pent up sexual frustration at knowing he who brought the heavens to earth with the way she saw stars when they made love was out there and just out of reach.

The sly devil had undid one of her overall straps to cup her chest right there backstage, tweaking the rosy bud of her pierced nipple under the pad of his thumb when the familiar chirp of Levy sounded from behind Vander's toned, tall frame.

"Ah, there you two are. I've been waiting for you in your dressing room when someone let me know the two of you were already back to your gross and kinky ways." Without blinking at the position they were in, the little blunette reached up and smacked the back of his head with her clipboard to force his hand from Lucy's top to rub the pain at the base of his skull away. "Come on, you two have to get to bed. You have early starts tomorrow."

Narrowing her eyes at her longtime girlfriend as Vander flipped his body around to give her a piggyback ride which was an excuse for him to be able to feel up her legs, Lucy asked with suspicion heavy in her voice from where she had thrown her arms over his built shoulders, her chin leaned on the top of his head. "No I don't. I specifically asked to have no more early to rise days."

Unfazed by her complaint and firm belief that should would get to sleep til the afternoon, Levy sin-songed as she walked ahead of them to get the back door leading to a black town car she recognized from her time with the White Sea, "Not anymore. After the stunt you two just pulled, you'll be lucky to get enough downtime between shows, interviews and appearances to eat, sleep and shower."

Wiggling his brows at the deadpanned pixie of a manager as she checked over the details of the interview Entertainment Today confirmed only an hour earlier, Vander tried his best to get a reaction from the intelligent whip of a woman. "You know, I can easily make all three of those things have happy endings, right? And to clarify, by happy endings I mean mind-blowing, knee-weakening orgasms. Over every surface at least twice."

Levy gave a bored 'mmhmm' before raising her head to let Lucy know Farron would have the car sent for them at nine in the morning and if they were late, he would send both Kaleb and Cristoff up to drag them out of bed so it would just be easier for everyone if they just did what they were told for once.

The blonde was nodding along to Levy's words until the blunette stopped to give her a chance to ask any questions and confirm that she understood what she was supposed to do only to have her look up at the love of her life with mirth in her eyes as if contemplating something before tilting her head enough to meet Levy's expectant gaze with a cheeky grin. "He wasn't kidding about the orgasms by the way. The way he flicks his tongue over my-"

"Goodnight," quickly cutting off that doomed sentence before Lucy could have the satisfaction of finishing with a raise of her palm in a motion to clearly convey the need she had for Lucy to shut the hell up right that instant before turning and calling back over her shoulder, "Nine o'clock, Lu. Nine."

~This was the most fun ever to write. I have no idea why but it was and I hope y'all enjoyed it.

I've got two days left and both Doxy and Brimstone are gonna be fun if I can get them tweaked the way I want so hold on my pretties ~


	8. Doxy Part 1- Lucy Harem with a Twist

~First off I had to google what a doxy was and when I read it meant mistress/prostitute/lover you get the picture, I cackled like the mad fangirl I am so like, here's another one for you fucking BEAUTIFUL HUMANS and because I apparently can't write a one-shot without it snowballing into whole thing this is another two parter and also the bonus day? You know...Brimstone? Yeah...that's gonna be a little mini-fic I'm posting on it's own because again, I am incapable of writing a one-shot...

...Much to your benefit and annoyance I'm sure~

Doxy- Lucy Harem with a Twist

It took very little convincing on her friends end to get Lucy onto the train heading towards Bosco with Bickslow. The Seith Mage was adamant she join him when she came back from a job with OG Team Natsu and was half bald from purposefully getting in the way of Natsu's magic so he wouldn't hit one of the gravestones in the memorial graveyard after the War and bruised to all hell from Happy getting distracted by the smell of a fish market and dropping her while they were flying over a pretty dense pine forest. Erza was only guilty of letting it happen but she was S-Class and really couldn't afford anymore screw ups now that Laxus was Master. He had already sidelined the three (Gray was guilty by association and again, Laxus didn't count Happy as a real member of the team) to help Mira with whatever she wanted until Laxus decided the punishment would suffice.

Who also thought it best for the pro mage wrangler to get away for a few weeks before she did something really stupid on behalf of her gremlins. The newest Master quite frankly needed the little spitfire whip of a woman to keep Fairy Tail in the green and it wouldn't help anyone if she was burnt to shit or worse, unhappy. The thought alone sent a shiver down Laxus' spine from behind his desk as he looked around to see the cause of his sudden dread before the thought passed and he was left to finish his final set of paperwork from the near-disaster Lucy managed to avoid for him.

Walking into the beautiful open layout of Pradesh family home filled the curvy blonde with wonder as her eyes shined and she spun to take it all in. Her face was alight with barely contained excitement since the Seith and she spent most of the long trip here talking about his exceptional siblings with such love it filled and spilled over in Lucy. It was the kind of unconditional ever present kind of love that seemed to cover you like a fuzzy blanket the moment her little booted foot stepped over the threshold. "Bixy, this is so…"

A shit-eating grin split the blunettes lips as his tongue lolled out of his mouth lazily and he watched the suddenly silent, agape Celestial Mage in thorough amusement of her unabashed response to the home that held his whole wonderful childhood.

By the looks of the water still dripping from the ends of his damp hair as he casually walked in from the back of the house, his oldest brother had just gotten out of the pool. The prodigal ambassador of Bosco was a few inches shorter than Bickslow but held a demeanor that completely rivalled his younger brother and Lucy could tell by the smooth, graceful flow of his movements and the proud way he carried himself. He also happened to have the kind of sharp jawline, bright baby blue eyes and dark mahogany hair that she seemed to lean towards.

Wiping his face one last time with the towel tossed loosely of his broad shoulders, his eyes landed on Bickslow's relaxed frame and spoke brightly as he crossed the space between them to wrap him up in a tight hug that seemed more fatherly than brotherly. "Bixy-bo, you're here and you're early! Do I owe that to your lovely companion?" Without missing a beat, the incredibly smooth Sound Mage withdrew from his embrace to take her hand and press a chaste kiss to the back of her knuckles. "It's good to finally meet the woman holding Fairy Tail together finally. My name's Farron and you can come to me with any problems that may arise while you stay with us."

Very much enjoying the attention, Lucy let out an airy giggle as her eyes trailed up from the snug fit of his low-slung swim trunks over his trimmed waist, over ridges and valleys of washboard abs to take in the black ink of a exquisitely done eagle covering most of his right side before realizing she was staring and he was waiting for a response with a kind smile and the kind of patience that made it clear the man was used to the distraction. She didn't know if that stemmed from being the oldest of seven siblings or from being desensitized to the ogling he was no doubt used to.

Blinking her attraction away long enough to match his smile with her own, she did another turn to take in the all-consuming feeling of home that seemed to permeate through her from the family sharing the house before speaking with laughter on her lips. "You seem to already know a great deal about me, Farron but I'm Lucy and it is really really good to be here. Thank you so much for opening your home up to me, it's absolutely charming."

Quickly falling into easy conversation, the three decided to take further advantage of the pool to get the last bit of jitters out of Lucy's system while they waited for the rest of the family to get home.

Lounging back on her elbows on the edge of the pool in a simple black wrap-style one-piece that barely kept her bountiful chest from spilling with the way it criss-crossed over her creamy globes, her head tilted back to expose the gentle slope of her neck as her eyes closed to take in some much needed vitamin D from above, Lucy was pretty sure she was just going to stay in the cool soothing waters until she died and that would be just fine. Every gentle splash of water from Farron and Bickslow's friendly competition to see who could do the most laps was another of her stresses washed away in the crystal clear water.

A throaty hum left her frame before she lifted her head to watch the two men. She couldn't honestly tell who was winning and frankly she didn't care; she was taking in the free show she was getting from the two tanned, toned men built like gods.

Bickslow had just gotten into the shallow end and rivulets of water were trying to map their way down the maze of muscle covering his agile acrobats body as he pushed the wet blue of his hair out of his openly grinning face, tongue out despite being in the pool, and somehow that made him more attractive to her.

Bringing her legs together underwater to try and stop the kindling arousal, she realized it was going to be a futile battle while surrounded by half-naked sexy Boscans. Especially now that Farron had joined Bickslow in the shallow end and was squeezing the excess water from his loosely braided hair.

Did all the Pradesh's have such defined abs? Because she was in for a long trip if they all had abs like those. Pinnacle of hot. Very nice. Ten out of ten would bang.

Unable to hide the soft sensual quality of her sigh from the Sound Mage and unfortunately for her, both men had eyes and could see the flush of her skin clear as the bright blue sky above them and the two shared a knowing look before Bickslow dove underwater to pop up just out of reach of the blonde in a near predatory fashion. Farron simply waded over towards her to give her Baywatch fantasies life in the form of his slow-motion hair shake and easy gait, the muscle of his arms tensing and flexing as he tamed his length of dark hair back.

Her thighs started rubbing together in hard passes to try and ease her borderline unnatural desire to have one of them touch her before she exploded.

With a casualness that nearly pulled whimpers from the blonde, Bickslow mirrored her position just off to her right just out of reach once again. "Have I mentioned how much I like that little suit of yours, Cosplayer?"

Even if she wanted to answer the rhetorical question, she knew she wouldn't have been able to through the rapidly churning waters of her own internal arousal from the closeness of him; just shy of where she wanted him most.

"You look ready to tear into all bound up like that."

The unbidden heat in his voice danced over her senses to prick her nerves to life and she knew that was the moment a fire lit just beneath her skin that even the soothing water couldn't fizzle out.

Her voice was smoke trapped in a closed space, dark and heavy and dizzying as her neck craned back and her hands started running over her skin in efforts to try and ease the foreign feeling scorching her from the inside out. "I feel like I'm on fire, Bixy."

She felt the water around her move but couldn't bother to see why with the slight relief she was providing herself.

That is until she felt the featherlight, teasing touch of knuckles over the exposed skin of her collarbone and another breathy wanton sigh filled her lungs from the power of that one brief touch.

The silken tone of Farron's voice was angelic as the warmth of his breath made the beads of cool water seem colder as a shiver wracked her body only to end at her core with force that had her walls clenching around nothing, making her desperate to get more from him. "Do you want us, Lucy?"

Her hum of approval was more than she thought she could muster through the sensations ripping through her body without having been really touched. The anticipation of what their bodies would bring only fueled the torrent of fire that was her arousal as she writhed just below the surface, the material of her swimsuit barely teasing over her clit in ways that sent her thoughts spiraling.

There was the slight tinge of disapproval in Farron's gentle lilt as he teased her but Lucy had a sudden need to fix the disappointment she caused. "Now, that just won't do. I want to hear the melody of your voice, my sweet."

Having already had a drunken night with the Celestial beauty that had left them both waking up incredibly satisfied but without memory of the actual good parts, Bickslow was more than comfortable running the tips of his fingers along the inside of her thigh to try and get her to loosen the muscle from her own fruitless attempts to ease her aching womanhood. He also had a much more straightforward approach than his oldest brother as his tongue traced over the shell of her ear and her legs relaxed in favor of giving him better access to her neck.

"What Fare means is, say the word and you get a double dose of Pradesh expertise and please, for the love of all things devious and unholy, say the word, kitten. I've been dying to get my hands on your body again."

It was barely audible but the single breathy response was just the one they needed to hear from her. "...yes, please...yes…"

With practiced ease, the Seith Mage undid all the knots of her suit and let it float away to take in the way the sun shined over her voluptuous body but what really set him off, what really got him going, was the way she was looking up at him from behind thick lashes, arousal hazing over her round chocolate eyes with her lips parted just enough to let her panting breaths out.

In a moment of silent communication, Farron meet Bickslow's heated gaze and gave him a playful shake of his head as an indulgent smile crossed his face.

A near demure look crossed her face as she met the baby blue of Farron's gaze. He had moved to the edge to lift himself out of pool and sat with his legs wide apart, calves still dipping into the pool but before she could get a complaint out, his hand extended as an offer she had no real way of knowing what really entailed for her. She found herself without worry when he was smiling at her like that.

Even the simple friction from their skin connecting as she took the proffered hand and let him lead her to stand between his thighs. Her golden ribbons of hair in a messy tangle on top of her head as his free hand started massaging the skin of her neck and hers tentatively traced over the lines of his tattoo.

"I find it more pleasurable if you let yourself go, sweet," Farron's voice coaxing her from what little personal hang up she had about being sandwiched between the two brothers as Bickslow started rubbing the generous curve of her backside. "Trust us. Trust me when I say it's easier to not fight the urges," his hands had dropped to brush the bottom of her breasts to pull a hitching breath from her before both his thumbs were rubbing back and forth over her nipples in maddening slow passes, "and give into the natural whims. There's nothing you could do we wouldn't enjoy."

As if his words and careful ministrations weren't enough of a test for her resolve, Bickslow had already gotten rid of his own suit to press his hardening member into the valley of her backside and trail his deft fingers down her stomach to toy with her clit in time with the slow grind of his hips.

It was all she could do to brace herself with a hard grip digging into the firm muscle of Farron's thighs as she all but melted between the barrage of sensual touches and the softly spoken promises of ecstacy taking over every thought in her head.

The two Pradesh men seemed content to build her up, exploring the places that made her back arch as sweet notes fell from her lips until it got to be too much stimulation and she felt the stirrings of an orgasm deep in her abdomen. If she had any capability of thinking thoughts outside of praises to the heavens, she would have been astonished that she was ready to cum and neither of them had been inside her.

While impressive, Lucy wanted to be filled by these two opposing forces of nature. Bickslow was all easy confidence. He knew what to tweak when she needed it most, how she needed most while Farron was all sensual touch and go, dirty words spoken like truest love poems and she wanted to taste him. The vixen inside her slowly wakening wanted to hear the noises he could make while having the challenge of choking down her own from Bickslow pumping in and out of her.

And Farron had told her to give into the whims.

It was a flash of a moment Lucy shifted the whole tone of their mostly one-sided play and it stirred the masculinity in both men to see her finally grow comfortable enough to take charge. The hand pinching and soothing her clit was halted by one of her own as she wrapped her free hand around Bickslow's neck to put her on full display for Farron as a lusty, heavy-lidded look of heady desire hit him like a brick.

Sexier yet was the rasp of her voice from the moans they pulled from her. "Take those off so I can have you."

He gave her a curling smile that somehow seemed indecent despite the softness of his voice and tender treatment of her. "As you wish, sweet."

Before she could actually enjoy watching Farron undress, Bickslow had a hand wrapped around the column of her throat before tracing the line of it to clutch her jaw and force her eyes up to his. "What about me, little kitten? Don't you want me?" His tone was playful and sexy and it pulled a lazy smile from the blonde as she spread herself apart for him, the cool water a stark contrast to the heat of her core.

"I want you, Bixy. I want to feel you inside me...I want...I want…," her voice trailed and hitched as he started rubbing the swollen head of his cock along her slit in languid sweeps.

The hand trapping her jaw eased to wrap around the back of her neck, pushing her down towards Farron's waiting frame as he stroked himself from where he was leaned back on his elbow. Her tongue darted to moisten her lips before her smaller hands replaced his and tested the weight of him in her palms. She remained in awe of the perfect specimen before her as she fully bent to get a better angle before tossing a sultry look over her shoulder to say this was how she wanted him to have her and he eased into her welcoming heat with a low satisfied groan.

Only stilling for as long as it took him to bury himself to the hilt and pull back, she turned her attention to the patient Sound Mage splayed out before her. Using one hand to stroke the base of his shaft and the other to cup the sensitive skin of his balls, she licked her lips once more before wrapping them around the smooth velvet of his head and flicking her tongue over the slit to pull the most delicious silky moan from him.

Flattening her tongue around the curve of his cock, she lowered her head to take more of him into her mouth while keeping the tip of her tongue curled just enough to press along the pulsing vein along the bottom. Following it all the way down to the base, her hand moved to brace herself on the trim waist below her to counter the increasing pace of Bickslow's rough but steady pistoning in and out of her pulsing core, her walls gripping his length with every brush of his tip against her cervix. A sensation she thought would be painful and uncomfortable but only served to tighten the coil of her agonizingly well built climax.

As her bobbing increased, she pressed a finger lightly over the skin just below his balls to pull a raw groan from the mahogany-haired man just as her hair sprung free from her bindings in a cascade of golden silk, the ends dipping into the pristine waters and tickling the flesh of Farron's hips and thighs to make him squirm.

Bickslow took the opportunity to not only help the minxy blonde but to bring to reality a fantasy of his own. Slowing his pace just long enough to gather her hair and tangle his hand in the gilded ribbons to get most of it out of her face and give him the grip that he could have total control over her if he wanted. He had never been one to jump right into the dubious nature of domming without having a proper boundaries but ever since she let her hair grow out, he had this undeniable urge to see how far she could bend her back to ease his pulling.

The light tug on her scalp everytime her the tip of her nose grazed smooth skin with each dip of her head sent waves through her body like electricity, tensing every muscle on the way down until she heard Farron croon from where he was watching her suck him down.

"Just a little more, my sweet...I just need a little more."

The little more she gave, switching the teasing touch of her finger to the steady press of her thumb into his g-spot and picking up her own pace, was just what he needed before she felt the muscle beneath the hand on his hip tighten to pull at the muscle of his groin before she had to stop her bobbing to swallow the salty mouthful of cum from around his pulsing cock. The sound of her name as a reverent breathy moan nearly pulled her own climax from deep inside until Bickslow changed their angle just enough to pull a keening cry from her lips as Farron's member fell from her lips.

Free to have her anyway he wanted now that his brother's dick was no longer down her throat, his pulled at her tangle of hair to coax her upright and let him see the hard arch of her back as her chest heaved from the pleasure he was giving her.

Satiated and content to watch the responsive woman, Farron took silent appreciation from the way his seed coated her swollen parted lips as she finally hit the peak of her arousal. Unable to take anymore stimulation, she tugged at Bickslow's grip in her hair as her knees gave just in time for the Sound Mage to catch her, her rasped screams washing through the men enough to finally pull a growl of a moan from behind her writhing frame. His hot cum shooting into her twitching core in a burst before the three were left to the sounds of their erratic breathing and the birds finding their way home before the sun went down.

Without any real sense of urgency, the three eventually got out of the pool to shower and clean up. She had been given the entirety of the pool house to herself since all the Pradesh brood would be home tomorrow night when Xally was done with her classes for a few weeks.

The pool house was bigger than her temporary home at the guild until more housing was built in Magnolia. The first floor was a simple open set-up of a modern kitchen attached to a bright living room with tons of seating centered around a four-way stone fireplace with seamless glass between the flames and the outside room but the second floor was basically one giant bedroom with the most glorious soaking tub she'd ever laid eyes on.

Deciding she would test the quality of it with a bath later on, she stepped under the stream of steaming water of an open shower with a permanent smile fixed on her face. The little Fairy was on cloud nine from her time with Farron and Bickslow in the pool but she was excited to meet the rest of their family.

Freshly showered and dressed in a pair of loose, low slung shorts tied to rest comfortably on her hips and a cropped boxy t-shirt just sheer enough to see the outline of her lacy bralette, Lucy bounced her way to the kitchen to help with dinner.

Twenty minutes in, she got to meet the next Pradesh in the lineup while in the midst of a very intense battle of wits with the Seith in the form of the sneaky devil of a man trying to get behind her to steal the chunks of fresh fruit she was trying to get made into a light salad.

Vander watched from the shadows in amusement as Lucy finally just dropped the knife, braced herself on the counter and shoved him back away from her with the curve of her backside before spinning around to smack at his chest with every teasing word in a playful huff. "Bickslow Altiene Pradesh! Will you please quit eating all the food before I get it into the bowl."

His head of blue mohawked hair immediately turning to Farron with an offended look on his face as he effortlessly wrapped one arm around her body to keep her pinned to his, his other hand reaching out to pop another chunk of pineapple into his mouth.

"I can't believe you told her my middle name, you betrayer of trust," juice coating his lips as he munched away while Lucy struggled uselessly against him.

A lazy foreign voice drawled from behind her back but she had no way of seeing who it was attached to with a face full of glorious man-pecs. "Only home for a day and you're already kicking up trouble, tell me again why you don't visit more often, bro?"

It was Farron that answered as Lucy tried her best to poke at her captors sides to find the minute window of ticklish flesh she saw Freed hit once to get the blunette to leave him alone while he read with little success. "Bixy-bo is too busy trying to loosen up the men and women of Fiore to come home and create chaos with you."

"Sounds like I should visit him instead. I always liked a good challenge," was his easy reply.

Cackles burst from Bickslow's crumbling frame as Lucy let out a victorious, "Ah HAH! I found it finally!" Before continuing to poke at the sensitive spot until she could back away from the tricksy Seith enough to get out of his reach.

Only to look up and see a roguishly handsome man built similarly to the Pradesh currently laying back on the floor like he meant to lay down in the middle of the kitchen holding the bowl that held what little made it passed her fellow guildmates with a strawberry between his lips.

"Hey! I worked really hard to get that bowl of fruit-" cutting herself off with a wide wave of her arms in front of her and a conceding tone, "You know what? That's fine actually."

Farron was humming happily under his breath as he stepped over Bickslow's frame to open the fridge and grab the butter before introducing her in a very casual, homey toss over his shoulder while he managed to actually get dinner together, "My sweet, I'd like you to meet our baby brother Vander. Vander, this is Lucy."

When no one spoke up after a minute, the Sound Mage turned to take in the scene that sounded like the two were chowing down only to see the two with giant chipmunk cheeks full of nothing but strawberries.

"What in the-"

Swallowing in a painful rush, Lucy choked before clearing her airways to defend herself. "He started it! He was gonna finish all the strawberries if I didn't get to them first," ending in a huff with her arms crossed over her chest.

Vander having had plenty of time to savor the sweet fruit properly licked at his fingers, sucking the ends into his mouth as he felt her hot gaze on him before finally offering the clearly annoyed blonde with a salacious grin that somehow leaned towards dashing more than creepy, "I haven't started anything yet but I most certainly can if you think you can handle it, sugar."

Not one to back down, her eyes drooped to sinful levels as a devious grin of her own countered his. Her voice was heavy with husky need, "It would be fun to see which of us would break first, thief."

"And I just wanted to eat some fruit but here I am, on the floor, dejected and fruitless." The rich easy voice was laced with mirth and absolutely no ill-will as Bickslow dramatically threw his arm over his face and scratched at the exposed skin of his abs.

Rolling her eyes, she motioned to the bowl in a 'may I?' motion which Vander responded with a casual 'by all means' before taking it from him, picking the juiciest hunk of pineapple and walking over to the blunette to stand over him, one foot on either side of his torso, to speak to him with sweet affection. "Open up, you big Bixy-baby."

Without moving his arm, a shit-eating smirk quirked his lips before his jaw dropped open to release his infamous tongue only to waggle it at her to pull a melody of laughter from her as she all but shoved the giant piece of sour fruit into his mouth before standing and popping another ripe strawberry into her mouth and asking Farron what she could do to help him.

Vander's smug face appeared over Bickslow as he happily munched the slice of juicy heaven, his little brother's hands on his hips as he asked earnestly, "Please, tell me she's fair game."

A good-natured laugh left Bix as he countered near instantly, "Would it really stop you if she wasn't?"

As if contemplating the question, his head tilted back and forth before he shrugged and gave his older brother one of his naturally charming and mischievous smile, "Probably not."

Shoving the Shadowquip's face away as he got up from the floor, he spoke with his usual playful ease, "Good thing the whole reason she's here is to relax and enjoy all the benefits of the house for next two weeks then," before giving his back a brotherly clap and slipping the bowl from Lucy's hold with a chaste kiss to her temple.

Vander was about to follow behind when Lucy's impossible doe eyes hit him from beneath her thick ring of lashes, her voice bright as she asked him where she could find a smaller paring knife to peel potatoes with.

In a shadowy wisp, he produced a knife perfectly suited to fit in her smaller hand that shined like obsidian but looked like metal to flip the deadly void-made weapon, catch the blade without injury and hold it out to her with his usual charming grin.

Staring at the handle in disbelief before slowly taking it from him, her eyes fixed on the newly-produced cutlery as she poke with wonder in her voice, "Wow, now that is nifty."

Testing the grip and weight to find it absolutely perfect for her, her eyes once again met his as a brilliant smile spread her lips. "Really nifty, actually. Can I keep this?"

Chuckles sounded from the remaining Pradesh brothers now that Bickslow had commandeered the rest of the fruit and most of the couch in the living room before Vander answered smoothly, "I'll make you a better one some other time. I didn't put much thought into that one but it'll slay your starchy foes well enough."

She gave an easy nod of her head before her focus was back on the task of getting potatoes into a pot to boil and Vander let the Sound Mage know he was heading up to shower off the filth of his busy day and extending an offhand invitation for the blonde to join him.

It was good bit of time before Bickslow's voice was calling out from his spot on the couch where he had finished the bowl off and started playing with his babies, "About time you three got here. Where's Cris?"

Emzadi immediately rushed across the room to flop on top of Bickslow to cuddle up to her older brother. "Bixy-bo! You're here earlier than usual. Didn't your flight just come in today?"

A confused look crossed Lucy's face at the second vague dig at the Seith Mage's punctuality before the familiar voice of the White Sea Guildmaster cleared up her confusion with an easy response, "He's only ever late when he's chasing tail. No need to chase when he brought it with him."

Remembering that Bix was bringing someone home with him that wasn't one of the members of his team, the Solar Dragon Slayer sat up to search the open layout for the little Fairy she heard about through the grapevine that was Kaleb's regular calls from Laxus. It was rare for the Lightning Slayer to praise someone so it stuck with the amazon of a Slayer.

Using one of Bickslow's babies, the six foot blonde bombshell jumped over the back of the couch to earn a scolding 'Zadi, not the couch' from Farron before the one of a kind burning orange of her naturally hooded sharp eyes caught Lucy's like a trap.

"You're the one Sparklebutt is always talking about," before bending to wrap her up in a tight hug, "I'm so excited to finally meet you."

The Celestial Mage would have answered in kind if she could breathe properly but the instant Emzadi released her and she took in a much needed gulp of air, the blindingly bright woman had ushered her out of the kitchen into the center of the living room with her arm wrapped around her hip in a loose familiar way in spite of having just met literally a minute ago.

She had already known how attractive both Arman and Kaleb were both having been the real power behind Bosco's ardent support getting Ishgar as whole back on its feat after the War but seeing the two of them in all their glory in person had her lung function hitching all over again.

Kaleb was built like Laxus near identically and the tight fit of his unbuttoned crisp white dress shirt had the bulk of his muscle on display in ways that had her coil stirring for what seemed like thousandth time since arriving in the den of the beasts.

"Zadi, honey, not everyone is as comfortable as you are when in the home of strangers." Arman's voice was similar to Farron's in ways that made her blush at the involuntary need to start rubbing her thighs together from her bodies reaction to the gentle timbre.

Trying to gather herself before she found herself in real trouble, she answered in honest defense of the endearing energy the Solar Slayer had. "It's fine really, it reminds me of a lot of another fiery dragon I know and I like the free cuddles."

A knowing smile on his tanned face, Arman's bright green eyes glinted with an emotion she had often seen in Mira's eye before he spoke. "Excellent, my dear. You'll have trouble finding a shortage of affection during your stay with us. Now," turning with a clap of his hands towards the kitchen and a cheery bounce to his step, "let's see to setting the table while our chef finishes up what is sure to be a delicious meal."

The conjoined blonde beauties followed quickly behind to lend the Pradesh patriarch their hands as Emzadi leaned her head towards Lucy's, a toothy grin on her face. "I know Ronnie put you in the pool house but that's so far away from the rest of us so we'll move your stuff into my room after dinner."

The thought of sharing a bed with the intimidatingly gorgeous woman had her heating up in ways she hadn't ever felt in regards to another woman before but found herself agreeing nonetheless. Maybe this was life's way of saying 'here have your experimental college years packed into a two week stay in the company of a family of sex gods' and she had always wondered what it would feel like to be with someone who had the same parts and knew how to work them from experience.

It wasn't until they had all sat down around the massive dining room table, myriad of clashing smells assaulting her senses in the best possible way, that Lucy realized she was starving.

Emzadi had claimed the seat on Lucy's right while Vander had taken the spot on her left after sauntering down in a pair off shorts and only a pair of shorts from the look of it.

Keeping her thoughts pg-13 during dinner, she quickly distracted herself from the bulge of Vander's crotch by asking to no one in particular, "I know Bixy asked earlier but where is Cristoff? I was hoping he could help me with a...problem I've been having."

Interest piqued by the odd phrasing of the question, Arman raised a brow as the rest of his children started picking up bowls and plates of food and passing it around with practiced ease. "Cris was sent out a few days ago to the capital but he should be home sometime tonight. Would any of us be any use to you with this...problem you've been having?"

Rubbing the back of her head as she ducked her head but kept a reassuring smile on her face, she responded with a nervous chuckle to her voice. "Oh, um, I don't think so? I just know Draco is mated to his dragon and he's being particularly ornery and difficult lately."

Blinking from his seat at the head of the table, the oldest Pradesh seemed taken by surprise by her words as he halted mid-mashed potato scoop. "Draco, you say?"

Going back to filling her plate, she missed the varying looks of shock, disbelief and confusion on the rest of the Pradesh brood's faces to answer with a tired sigh, "Mmm, I think it has something to do with the time of year since nothing else has changed since he came to me but he won't talk to me about it. It's really annoying actually. He just closes his gate and sulks. So much that I can feel him sulking in the Spirit World. He's like a great big unhappy grumpy dragon-sized child."

Clearing his throat to break the rare lull settled over his family, Kaleb's smooth voice sounding restarted the flow of dinner as the rest of his siblings shook the initial emotion the news pulled from them. "It would be best to see what Cris has to say since he's spent the most time with Draco."

With a casual shrug and a carefree smile, the little Fairy let out a lilting giggle before taking a sip of her wine and starting in on the fantastic food on her plate.

Vander had managed to behave for most of dinner before a brilliant idea crossed his mind.

Sensing the nature of this 'brilliant idea', his Mindbender brother gave his shin a kick from his spot across from the deviant which Vander dodged with little effort before leaning forward on his left elbow to have his right fall into his lap with a cheshire grin curling his lips in mischief.

Lucy was deeply invested in the back and forth between Bickslow and Emzadi when she felt fingers ghost over thigh on a straight line for the apex of her legs.

Eyes going owlish as her hand caught Vander's under the table, she sent him a sideways look to convey her exasperation with his insane timing which he matched with a look that just dared her to stop him. An open challenge to her prudish ways by his standards of the word.

Knowing there was no way in hell she was about to get handsy at a dinner table containing two Sound Mages, a Mindbender and a Dragon Slayer, her grip tightened as she put his hand back in his lap as her swift response. Nope. No way she was about let the youngest Pradesh boy into her pants when literally everyone would know exactly what was going on just below their desserts.

A little too forceful in her delivery, she overshot his thigh and ended up dual punching Vander right in his family jewels and even he wasn't immune to the knee jerk reaction to cup himself to ease the pain.

Immediately, guilt tore through her as her panicky hands hovered above his shoulder in a moment of hesitation before she started rubbing fervent circles over his still bare shoulder blades as if that would help his nuts feel better.

"Holy shit. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to- that isn't what I meant- are you okay? Is this the sort of thing that requires ice? Or a heating pad? I don't-"

His voice was tight but not unkind as he cut off her guilty ramblings. "Huney, I'm fine."

It wasn't until the Mindbender spoke up from across the table that Lucy at least dropped the deer in the headlights look in her eyes. "It's not the first time Vander's balls have been the targeted by a beautiful woman and it won't be the last, Lucy. I like to think of it as a form of karma."

Her hands stilled but the soft lilt of her voice nearly stunned the Shadowquip with the genuine remorse she felt at hurting him. "You're sure you're okay?"

A genuine smile quirked his lips as he easily reassured the blonde, "Five by five, sugar."

Now that the Celestial Mage has determined that the Shadowquip was okay, her finger immediately poked at his face with each word she spoke as if to make her point by shoving through her fingertips into his skull. " . . . I haven't had a meal like this in ages and I won't have you ruining it with your debauchery."

Emzadi and Bickslow shared a look of mutual amusement, brows raised, lips drawn at the blonde's outburst before breaking down into a fit of giggles just as Arman and Farron returned with two of the most amazingly decadent cakes she'd ever lain eyes one and found herself distracted with the stray curious thought at what her team of wrecking balls were up to.

Vander, mostly recovered and always optimistic when it came to the relations he has, was perfectly content to take pleasure in the chase. It'd been a good while since anyone put up a real fight against his charms and the raven-haired Pradesh found himself stirring at the thrill of it all.

Two weeks is a long time and anything can happen.

It wasn't until after they had finished dinner that Lucy really started feeling the aftereffects of her busy day but Arman and Bickslow ganged up on her with their easy going smiles and subtle pressure and she somehow found herself quite literally sandwiched between the two twistiest and infectiously laidback Pradesh boys as Bix rested his arm along the back of the couch behind her head so he could run his fingers through her hair in lazy motions while Vander quickly rested nearly all his arm on the smooth skin of her leg to run the back of his knuckles across in aimless patterns.

She lasted all of twenty minutes before their combined ministrations put her sleep, happily nestled in with her head on Vander's shoulder and her hand loosely laced in Bickslow's on her lap.

~Like I said, she a two parter. I have lots more for y'all that will be finished by 8ish my time.

I literally read the definition of doxy and immediately started the resounding chant that was HAREM HAREMHAREMHAREM and I do not regret it. XD ~


	9. Doxy Part 2- Still a Lucy Harem with a Twist

Doxy- Still a Lucy Harem with a Twist

Looking down to take in the expensive silk loosely draped over her naked body then up to take in the unrecognizable and severely dated decor of the room around her, Lucy pretty much came to the conclusion she was either dreaming or hit her head very hard and from the look of her chambers, she was not a shining pillar of virtue wherever she found herself this time.

Chambers seemed more accurate than room while remaining more appropriate than sex dungeon though all three seemed to apply to the lavish room lined with all sorts of whips, riding crops, leather bindings and toys she somehow knew exactly how to use despite never seeing them before in her life.

Before she could get too deep into overthinking things, she heard footsteps on the other side of the door. With every step they took towards her door, she took another step closer to them uncaring of the way the ivory material slid off her shoulders to trail behind her like a robe meant for someone much taller and broader than herself.

With a delicate hand extended to hover over the knob, she felt the embers deep in her abdomen stir in languid fanning passes before the door swung open and the platinum blond, lavender eyed Mindbender filled the doorway dressed in a loose billowy white shirt and silken vest left open to frame yet another droolworthy set of chiseled abs more defined and rigid than even Laxus boasted. Following the deep v down to the tight, unlaced breeches loose on his hips to give her a taste of the trimmed patch of hair leading from his bellybutton to a thicker patch of curling hair settled in the valley of rock hard thighs like every one of his muscles was carved from stone in the same way the ancients carved marble statues of gods.

Her voice was coy and playful, confident and sultry as she trailed her hand down his chest to follow the trail of hair all the way down, her hand diving below the waistband of his pants to palm the well-endowed strikingly beautiful man with practiced ease to pull a deep masculine noise of relief from his bulky frame. "Having trouble sleeping, Master?"

An easy grin split his lips as he ground his hardening member into the softness of her masterful touch and his velvety baritone caressed her own ever-present arousal to ignite her embers into the flickering flames licking at her core.

"I find my appetite has gotten the better of me tonight, inamorata."

His lips were roving over the expanse of her naked chest before her sinful laughter sounded and she threaded their fingers together in a loose hold to lead him to the edge of her bed, the tangle of mussed sheets already showing the work from her last steamy roll in them.

Pushing his chest so he'd fall back into the plush nest built solely for the purpose of pleasure with a mischievous glint in her eye, she let the cool silk glide down the curves of her body to pool at her feet as his sharp gaze followed the material down, his attention pulling at the corners of her mouth in a satisfied languorous grin.

Devious fingers traced up the exposed skin of his chest to pull at his shirt from below the material; sliding both the expensive pieces of clothing over the bulge of his biceps and off his body, her lips blazing a trail from nipple to nipple, suckling over his abs to flick her tongue out and tease the skin just above his groin as she tugged on his waistline to have him lift his hips to help her ease the soft leather from his legs, the girth of him bobbing free in a heavy drop to reiterate just how large of a man he was.

She could feel her bodies near instant flood of juices running through the tight clench of her walls to gather over her lower lips and start coating the inside of her thighs like a waterfall as she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth at the delicious toe-curling reaction. The hunger of her need for him taking root in her core and steadily creeping out to take over every nerve-ending and thought she had in an all-consuming way Kaleb fed off of as she asked him from her kneeling naked position draped over his lap as she kissed and sucked her way towards the apex of his legs, "How can I ease my Master's hunger tonight?"

Her eyes closed to memorize the way he trailed the back of his hand down the curve of her face in an affectionate caress before his chest rumbled, "With the sound of your release, mia inamorata."

The feel of her breath over the sensitive skin of his cock as she whispered her usual response to his requests had his cock twitching from the deeply sensual sensation, "As you wish, mio meastro."

Moving to straddle his lap, one thick thigh on either side of his hips to coat his member with the wet of her arousal, her hands ghosted up his chest to take his jaw in her hands in unhurried motions before ducking her head to kiss along the soft pout of his lower lip. The tips of her manicured nails teasing at his hairline behind his ears before pulling his lip between her teeth and tugging playfully to pull a delicious groan from the man beneath her.

Feeling a sudden sense of urgency take hold in a part of her mind detached from what was happening in her little chambers, her hand took gentle hold of his cock to play with the over-sensitized tip as she rasped out, "...hurry...I don't know how long…" Her back arching to line him up with her throbbing core as if asking him for permission; if this was how he wanted her.

Which he answered with a quick snap of his hips as his hands started their rough wandering over her skin in ways that would surely bruise to stretch her in one swift plunge into her impossibly tight heat, the pressure of her walls nearly painful as they adjusted to the sheer size of him. It wasn't long before her powerful thighs flexed to lift herself just enough to have him almost fall from her depths only tease his flared head with a few shallow thrusts before sitting down to have their skin slap together in a loud clap only to have the blunt of his nails dig into the soft flesh of her round hips and lift her near immediately and slam her back down at a pace that had her light-headed and dazed until she found her own rhythm and gave a subtle curve of her hips with every rough thrust to have him hit the spongy patch of her g-spot with every clap.

The coil of her arousal was tightened to fast for her to do anything but ride out each intense shot of lightning deep in her core until she couldn't hold back the rough unintelligible moans he was forcing out of her lungs.

"...m-meastro...it's too much…"

She could feel the involuntary tensing start in the tendons of her groin before a slow nagging thought started as a jumbled whisper in the far reaches of her conscious before growing to an unbearable chant that had her sitting straight up in bed, sweat coating her overly stimulated creamy skin as she clutched her chest through the material of her bralette and tried to calm down. Something that seemed as improbable as ducks falling from the sky.

Closing her eyes to try and focus on her breathing, it took a few minutes for her heart rate to slow and the pain in her lungs to cease as her brow furrowed as she remembered the one word that cut her off just as she was about to get to the good part of her naughty life-like dream; close.

A startled gasp left her body as Kaleb's smooth voice caressed over the shambling thoughts inside of her mind, Everything alright, little fairy?

Looking over to take in the steady rise and fall of Emzadi's barely contained chest to confirm that the Solar Slayer was still asleep, she ran her fingers through her hair as she answered his mental inquiry, Peachy keen except for the abrupt end to a really fucking good dream.

Is that what you think that was, Lucy? The playful, knowing tone of his velvety voice had a fierce blush take over her body.

Her response was hesitant as she tried to puzzle out the deeper meaning of his simple words, Isn't that- What else could that have been…?

I'm very good at what I do, mia inamorata.

Blinking in the dark of Emzadi's room, her eyes adjusted to the low light coming from the sliver of moonlight shining through the crack of the curtains covering the massive windows before she felt the sudden pull to get up, to get out of the house and under the night sky.

At her lack of response, the Mindbender prodded further, Are you sure you're alright?

Don't worry, Kaleb. I just need some fresh air. Go ahead back to sleep, I'll be fine.

She felt rather than heard the warmth of his response as she tried her best to stay silent as to not wake her passed out bedmate and follow the persistent whisper leading her down through the dark quiet of the house and out the back door to the back patio and the expansive pool of water.

Lucy could have swore she saw the surface of the water shimmer, a silvery glow to the still surface that had the whimsical urge to walk across the seemingly solid surface cross her mind before the quiet whisper in her head became a near throbbing pain. Clutching at the sides of her head, whatever the feeling was, it desperately wanted her to get in the water, the promise of relief bouncing off her skull with every pulse of electric sharp pain if she just got in the water.

Shedding the few pieces of clothing left on her body without hesitation, she waded into the soothing liquid until the surface came just shy of her naked core, the waves from her own movements kissing at the heat of her lower lips as her fingers traced over the water in sweeping fluid motions, soaking the gentle caressing light of a clear nearly-full moon shining down from a cloudless night sky as her stars twinkled and danced around the blurred outline of it. Content to stay in the soothing pool, she tilted her head upwards as the voice quieted as if to say 'now wait'.

Which is how Cristoff found the woman his dragon had been gnawing away at his chest to find the closer he got to home; something that had initially confused the Lunar Slayer but he trusted his dragon soul and the knowledge that wherever it lead him, his fated mate would be waiting.

And gods be damned if she didn't look radiant standing completely bare in the pool made of his healing waters reflecting the night sky around the generous curves of her hips and legs, her sleep-tousled hair falling down her back in a waterfall of pale golden silk to kiss the surface and send tiny ripples towards him.

He had patiently waited for so long to finally meet her, he didn't think to take any of his clothes off before giving in to the pull of her like the tides to his element; like the absolute force of nature this ethereal woman was.

Feeling the same pull towards him, she finally turned around to see what had her so unbelievably hormonal in a near maddening languid way only to be stunned at the beauty of the last Pradesh brother the foreign voice in her head labeled hers instantly. Irrevocably and wholly, hers.

Frozen in place as his tall muscular frame waded to her, fully clothed save for his feet, with a silvery predatory glow to his eyes that pulled her in like gravity suddenly shifted from keeping her feet on the ground to pulling her towards the gorgeous raven-haired beast of mage now that he was the core of her whole world. Her voice was overflowing with the instant monsoon of soothing love she felt for him. Love that felt more perfect and more natural than the flicker of the constellations hanging above their heads. "Cristoff…"

Since there was only one additional guest set to reside in his childhood home, he already knew a great deal about Lucy from his conversations with Kaleb and Farron before he landed but the sweet lilt of her voice and the ardent emotion blazing in the dark of her irises was all he needed from her in that moment before he closed the gap between them to wrap his arms around her to bring her closer and take her lips with his with a passion that quickly spread and ignited a deeper carnal need to take her. Claim her. Make her his and only his for the rest of their lives.

The Celestial beauty was lost to everything outside of Cristoff and the sensual feel of his magic as it washed over her in steady waves and she wrapped herself around him as the steady chant that interrupted her time with Kaleb started all over again, only this time she heard the call and gave into it.

Close. Close. Closer. Closer. Not enough. More. More.

The throbbing of his cock painfully restrained in the tight material of his pants had a deep reverberating growl sounding through his teeth only to be swallowed by her drawn wanton moan and all thoughts of how her dewy skin reflected the luminous quality of his beloved moon, how perfectly she fit pressed into the hard lines of his warrior's build, how much he cherished her like the rare slice of heaven she was to him were all drowned by the undeniable desire to make her his forever and see his mark, his name branded into her flawless skin.

The gruff husky quality of his baritone was better than anything she'd ever heard as he carried her out of the pool and into the pool house, a ripple of hot arousal tugging more forcefully inside the compact curves of her body than anything she'd felt before.

"I need you, Lucy. Let me have my fill of you forever…" His lips were soothing and stimulating all at once as he nibbled trails and pathways over her neck and shoulders.

Her nails were already tearing at his clothes with such ferocity she was leaving angry trails across the firm muscle of his back in their wake as her own heady voice echoed off the walls, "Forever is a good start…"

Impatient and ravenous, the usually easy-going man lifted her enough to undo the button of his jeans and took her right in the middle of the second floor bedroom, the light of the moon invigorating both halves of their mated pair in ways that rivalled the full moon's power over his libido as his generous length filled her so fully, she almost thought he would break her into a million shards of satiated contentment and that would have been just fine to her.

Everything about their explosive first round was a near battle between the two to see who could get more the other; who could pull the loudest moans from the other; who could build the highest peak in the other before letting it crash through them in a magnetic coupling that woke the entirety of the Pradesh house within minutes.

Being the supportive and nosey family they were, nearly all of them shared the same thought to head to the room with the best view of the pool house which happened to be Bickslow's. Vander even made popcorn as each and every member of the Pradesh family gathered chairs and blankets to commentate the impressive show of stamina and flexibility until the sun came up and the Shadowquip was the last one of them still awake being the most invested in the couple now that his teddy bear of a romantic brother finally found his mate.

His voice holding no ill-will or yearning as a crooked dimpled grin split his rakishly handsome face, "I can't believe you'll be the only one to get away, sugar."

It took the pair three weeks to come up for air and Laxus was about at the end of his rope with Lucy's continued absence within the walls of their guild. From his near permanent post behind the desk of his office, every noise sent another wave of hope that it was the blonde saintly woman coming through the front doors of the guild hall only to be let down time after time for a week.

He was about to pick up his comm to give Bickslow more than an earful about it when the unmistakable ringing lilt of Lucy's laughter filtered up through his door and into his ears.

He was up and out of his office faster than his lightning could carry him only to stop dead at the top of the stairs to take in not one Pradesh, but two. One on either side of the Light of Fairy Tail and goddamnit, this wasn't what he meant when he told Bickslow to make sure she came back a new woman.

As if sensing his ire, the Seith ducked his head to whisper something in Lucy's ear, the easy smile on her face from reuniting with her nakama after too long apart failing just a fraction before an even brighter, more brilliant smile took hold in her face as her bright eyes met his from across the main guild hall.

Blinking in disbelief as he watched the tiny woman pull the Lunar Slayer down to press a lingering kiss on his lips that escalated as Cristoff quite literally swept her up and dipped her off her feet, earning raucous wolf whistles and cheers, before setting her back on soles of her boots with another quick kiss, smacking her ass with a playful affectionate smile and sending her on her way up to where Laxus was fixed to the floor.

Giggling as she bounded up the steps two at a time, she leaped at his tall frame for him to catch her in his arms purely by reflex as his expression fixed into one that displayed the anger sprouted from his confusion at just what in the fuck happened while Lucy was in Bosco fully directed at the Lunar Slayer meeting his sharp gaze with a look of self-satisfaction that only wedged the growing thorn in his side deeper.

Lucy, completely unaware of the little pissing contest between the two dragons, cheerfully babbled while her arms wrapped tighter around his neck. "I missed you, Spark Plug. I wish you could have seen some of the cool places Cris took me to. Did anything happen while I was gone? Have you been eating? You better have gone home to sleep every night and don't even think about lying to me. I'll just ask Mira and she has no trouble telling me the truth."

His voice was hard in it's usual way as he returned the affection with what would have looked like cold reluctance to anyone outside Fairy Tail but the fact that the Lightning Dragon Slayer, Master of Fairy Tail and fourth God of Ishgar wasn't sending 50,000 volts through her was monumental for the emotionally constipated man. "What in the fuck is going on, Blondie? Why is moonboy here and why are you-"

Coming to resounding halt, his thoughts immediately went to the worst possible scenario for him. Oh no. No. No. No. There was only one reason for Cristoff to be so touchy feely with someone. That lucky son of a bitch found his mate in the one person that kept the fragile balance that was his batshit guild of idiots and it'll be a cold day in hell before he gave the blonde up.

Pulling back to give him an innocent look of concern for his sudden tense silence, her voice was tentative as she relinquished her hold on him. "Laxus? What's wrong?"

In a rush, he blurted out without any context at all, "You aren't leaving."

Narrowing her eyes at the Master of her guild and weird cross between a father-figure and brother, her lips were pressed together in a firm line as she tried to understand what the heck he meant by that only to further the crease in her brow before speaking again. "Um, I wasn't planning on going anywhere...maybe a job since I'm really tired of having to sleep next to Cana's room. The walls are thin and I hear some really traumatizing things that will stay with me forever." An involuntary round of heebie-jeebies taking hold in her body and she tried to shake the memories to no avail.

A grunt of approval left his frame and Lucy's mood near instantly went back to the giddy glee of before his odd behavior as she turned to drag him down the steps to where Bickslow and Cristoff were chatting with a few of her guildmates. Her voice was distracted as she asked the Lightning Slayer trailing behind her, "Where are Natsu, Gray and Erza? And Mira for that matter? She never leaves the bar..."

"Out," was his cryptically curt answer before the two were pulled into the conversation centered around Cristoff's presence and the relationship he had with their Celestial Mage.

After hours of listening to the goings on of nearly each of her nakama's lives while she was away with genuine interest, she heard the familiar whine of her best friend through the thick wood of the front door and nearly toppled Cristoff off the bench they were sharing to rush to the door just as Natsu's sagging frame threw them open in his traditional way of letting the guild as a whole know he had returned.

The moment his onyx eyes met hers, a toothy smile split his face in ways that looked painful to everyone else and he literally pounced in her already waiting open arms.

"LUCE! Thank Mavis you're back! Let's go on a job," pulling back with his hands on either of her shoulders, "just the two of us," before his nose started twitching and his pupils slitted for a flash of a moment before his head of salmon locks scanned the hall to land on Cristoff's relaxed frame and his dragon relaxed in kind.

Surprising everyone present with the astute and alarmingly quick deduction, he wrapped her up in another lung-squeezing contricting hug, his rich voice brighter than before somehow, "Congrats on mating a dragon, Lushi. Do you think he'd fight me? He looks like he could put up a good fight."

Laughter bubbled from her chest when he pulled back to let her breathe, his arm still draped over her shoulder as the raven-haired Pradesh stood to his towering full height and sauntered over to the Fire Slayer with an easy gait and a genuine smile on his lips. "I've heard a lot about you Natsu. It's...a pleasure to finally meet the dragon behind all the commotion I hear about so often from nearly everyone whose met you," before offering an arm to the smaller fiery mage and introducing himself, "Cristoff Pradesh, Lunar Slayer and very proud mate of your talented partner."

Taking his arm with the hand that had been wrapped around Lucy to pull him close with an excited gleam in his eye, his other fist ignited as he yelled from a foot away from Cristoff's face, "Fight me, slayer!"

Lucy was about to swing her fist with Natsu's head as the end target in her crosshairs when her mate gave her a cheeky wink and spoke one word to the Fire Slayer to have him slump into his waiting arms, loud snores instantly sounding from his frame.

Giving her mate an impressed shake of her head, she poked at her best friends puffy cheek while giving Cristoff praise for a job well done, "That is incredible. You'll be using the trick more often than not. You truly are a wonder to be celebrated, my darling."


End file.
